Fetching Complaints
by swirlheart
Summary: After Rangiku causes problems for Kira, things go horribly wrong when she tries to help him out. Now he thinks he's a dog! Even worse, Ichigo is afflicted with the same problem. Now she has to hide this from everyone and hopes her Captain will help her keep the barking duo a secret. Rated T to be safe. No pairing. Please read and review. Thanks!
1. Chapter 1

**Fetching Complaints:**

Summary: After Rangiku causes problems for Kira, things go horribly wrong when she tries to help him out. Now he thinks he's a dog! Even worse, Ichigo is afflicted with the same problem. Now she has to hide this from everyone and hopes her Captain will help her keep the barking duo a secret. R&R please!

Bleach and its characters belong to Tite Kubo. This is just a fanfiction written for fun. No profit is being made.

Please enjoy.

 **Chapter 1:**

"It's not that bad," Rangiku said in a whiny tone as she followed Kira down the hall. "You're being sensitive."

"You really think I'm delicate?" Kira asked her with horrified eyes. "That I break easily?"

"Actually, my exact word was 'fragile' but…"

"Well, that's so much better!" Kira picked up the pace but Rangiku continued to follow him.

"I was just saying…"

"You think I can't handle it? You think I'll run away? When have I ever run from a battle? I'm always there for my friends. I can't believe you think that about me."

"I never said you weren't," she told him, breathing down his neck. "You're an excellent fighter. You're just a bit timid."

"Timid!" Kira grabbed his head, moaning. "You think I'm timid!"

"Well, you are! Look, it's not that we can't rely on you. Far from it. But in situations like these, it might be best if you sit it out. We can't have you freezing up or worse."

"Are you saying you can't depend on me?"

"No, not at all! We just can't have you letting people down."

Kira spun around. "You just contradicted yourself in the same statement!" he cried. "Either I'm reliable or I'm not. Which is it? Do you think I can do this?"

"This?" Rangiku raised her brows. "Well, it's hard to say. I'm sure you could, but given how you tend to be, I wouldn't count on it. I just don't want to take any chances."

Kira's mouth fell open. "So that's how you really feel? That I'm not cut out for this?"

"It's not that I have no faith in you. It's just that I don't think you have what it takes given how you tend to be. That's all."

Rangiku thought she was making it better, but she made it so much worse. She didn't even realize her statements were very similar. Kira interpreted them to mean the same thing. Even if he didn't, the second half of what she said wasn't very flattering.

Kira slowly turned around, his shoulders slumped.

"Feeling better?" she asked him, oblivious to the storm cloud over his head.

"Sure. Loads better."

"Great!" She gave him a pat on the back. "You'd better get back to work. Don't want to make people angry, right?"

"Rangiku!"

She flinched at her Captain's voice coming from the open window above them.

She could either see what he was so angry about, or, knowing that she was most likely the culprit, she could avoid him by getting some snacks. If she hid long enough, he might cool down, making the inevitable lecture more bearable.

She decided to go see what he wanted.

"What is this?" he asked her, holding up a sheet of paper.

"A document you need to fill out, Captain," she told him.

"I meant this!" He pointed to a brown ring over the center of the paper and a large smear over the part that required his signature.

"Hot chocolate."

"Were you using the papers as a coaster again?"

"Not on purpose," she told him. "The papers were on the table and I had to put my drink down on something. Sorry for the smudge. There was a spill when I put the cup down."

Hitsugaya sat down with a heavy sigh. "I can't fill it out now. Look at it. The part I need to sign is covered in a stain and if I do try to write on it, the paper's going to fall apart. It's soaked!"

"I did try to dry it off."

Someone came into their office and stood next to Rangiku.

"What in the world did you say to Kira?" asked Renji.

"Huh? Why?"

"He's sulking in the courtyard. What did you say to him?"

"Hm? Oh!" She smiled. "Nothing. He was feeling a little down about our conversation so I cheered him up."

"I think you made things worse. He doesn't look very cheered up to me."

"He was upset that I thought he was timid so I told him it wasn't because of his personality, it was his ability that I doubted. Or was it the other way around? Not sure how I phrased it."

"They both should pretty horrible to me," Renji grumbled.

"I just told him that it's not his ability in battle, it's his ability at everything else. I may have also called him sensitive."

Renji slapped himself in the forehead. "I don't even want to know what else you told him."

"What? What did I do?"

"What's this about, anyway?" asked Hitsugaya.

"Oh, it's a thing the Lieutenants are doing. Like a tournament. It's nothing too serious. Basically, it's a big game," Rangiku told him excitedly. "We all drew names from a hat to see who would be on what team and Kira was on ours. There's a series of puzzles you have to solves and games you get to play and then at the end, there's a match for top points. We're going to be using the dojo in the 11th Division. Ikkaku said he wanted in on the last round. Probably because it involves fighting."

"Uh-huh. And?" Hitsugaya asked her unenthusiastically. "You spoke with Kira after he was placed in your team?"

"Yeah. I told him if we had any chance of winning, he might want to check his shyness at the door or just not show up."

"What a horrible thing to say!" Renji and Hitsugaya yelled at once.

"What? You know how he can be. When it comes to things like this, he tends to second-guess himself. What if he's doing a puzzle and freezes up? What if he has to answer trivia questions and doubts he has the right answer? We can't have him doing that if we expect to win."

"He's acting nervous because you're putting so much pressure on him," said Hitsugaya.

"No, I'm not. He was acting all nervous before I said anything to him. That's why I talked to him afterward."

"Maybe he's acting nervous because he thinks everyone expects so much of him. It's just a game. He probably thinks you guys are going to take it seriously and can't let you guys down," said Hitsugaya. "He wants you guys to believe in him. He doesn't want to let you down."

"But he doesn't seem to believe in himself. That's why I'm worried we won't win. He's too timid."

"He just lacks confidence," Hitsugaya explained. "He always has. It's a part of his personality. People putting pressure on him isn't helping that. It's making it worse."

"I want to win this thing as much as the next guy," said Renji, "but scaring Kira isn't the way to do it. He'll never be confident if we doubt him from the get-go. We need to give him a chance."

Rangiku put her hands on her hips. "Oh, come on. Don't tell me you don't feel the same way."

"Of course, I do. I know the guy's a nervous wreck, but I know better than to say it to his face just before a game."

"If this is just a game, no one has to take this seriously," Hitsugaya said. "It's a game. It's supposed to be fun."

"It's fun if you win," Renji said matter-of-factly.

"Playing tends to be the fun part, but winning is a perk," Hitsugaya told him. "Instead of being worried you won't win because of him, try telling Kira it's not a big deal. If he's in it to have fun and isn't so focused on winning, he might actually help you win. If he's worried, that will jeopardize your chances. He needs to calm down and have fun. Don't put all this pressure on him and make him worry."

"Yeah, yeah," Renji said with a sigh. "I guess that's true."

Rangiku pouted. "I'd still like to win."

"Isn't this a friendly game?" Hitsugaya asked her.

"It is."

It was, but Renji was already placing bets on who would win among the other Lieutenants. Hisagi was on the other team so he was quick to bet on himself and his team. Renji doubled the price. An action he was already regretting after learning what Rangiku had said to their teammate. They had to fix Kira soon or get him to quit before the game began. Renji did not want to lose his bet.

They weren't supposed to place bets, but it wasn't against the rules either.

"Say, while I'm here, do you have that paperwork I need to pick up?" Renji asked.

"Oh, yeah!" Rangiku went over to Hitsugaya's desk. "Here it is."

She yanked a piece of paper out from under his cup, knocking it over and spilling hot tea all over the other papers.

Hitsugaya sat frozen with rage as the tea poured into his lap.

Rangiku slowly backed away. "Sorry, Captain… But you did leave the cup on top of the paper, so in a way it is kind of your fault."

Hitsugaya was still frozen, but the redness in his face told her that his mounting rage was about to send him into a frenzy.

"You have five seconds to get out of my office," he said in a calm voice.

"Now you want me to leave? You're always trying to keep me in here."

"Two seconds." He could no longer force his voice to remain calm and was beginning to creak.

"Ok, bye." Rangiku ran out the door, pulling Renji with her.

* * *

Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

"Do you really think this is a productive use of my time and skills?"

"Do you have something or not, Akon?"

Sighing, Akon opened one of the drawers on the wall. The wall looked like a giant filing cabinet with drawers varying in size from top to bottom. Each drawer was coded by number so Rangiku had no idea what was in any of them, nor did she want to. She was only interested in the one Akon was opening. He took out a small pouch and held it up.

"You sure you want this?" he asked her. "Given what you told me the other day, I really think there are other ways to handle this."

"But those ways haven't worked yet. This is a surefire way to do it," Rangiku insisted. "I'm positive. You already said it would work and I trust you."

Akon sighed. "That wasn't really my concern. It's not a matter of trusting me. I was referring to Kira."

Rangiku put her hands on her hips. "I was also talking about him. Not just you."

"Oh?"

"I tried talking to him about the game and I just made things worse. When I tried to make him feel better, I made him feel worse and even Renji was upset with me. I'm through doing it that way. I don't want to make things any worse. This is the best way to do just that. I can make sure things go right and there's no risk of making him or anyone feel terrible. This way, I can get exactly what I want."

"Well, you are known to take shortcuts…"

"What was that? You mumbled something."

"Nothing." Akon looked at the pouch. "Seems like your mind is made up. You're sure you want to do this?"

"For the last time, yes. As I said, this is the best way to get the job done without added hassle."

"Ok," Akon sighed again. "In that case, let me show you how it works so there are no slip-ups. In theory."

"What do you mean in theory?"

"It means if you mess this up after I explain everything, it's not on me." If Rangiku messed things up, it would be her own fault. He took every precaution to prevent things from going awry. If things went south, it was in no way his fault. It was hers.

Akon had to make sure he excluded himself from possible punishment or guilt. The last thing he wanted was for people in his department, namely his Captain, to find out about this and receive a lecture about his incompetence.

He believed this was a misuse of the invention, but he had been given an order from a Lieutenant. He had to obey her. Besides, she was responsible for keeping the department 'in business' as several called it, seeing as how she came up with most of the suggestions and ideas for new material.

Akon opened the pouch and dumped the contents into his palm.

Rangiku stared at the two little pills the size of a grain of rice. They were a dark purple color and not very appealing to look at.

"That's it?" she asked.

Akon nodded. "As per your request, here they are."

"Just two of them?"

"Considering our lack of resources, yes. We only managed to make two of them, but all you need is one if things go the way you want."

Rangiku was excited, but curious. She wanted to know how these worked.

Akon held up the two tiny pills. "These, Lieutenant, are exactly what you ordered. Once ingested, the one who swallowed them falls into a highly suggestive state. Once that happens, they will obey the first command they hear. Only the first command. Each pill only works once, as I'm sure you've gathered."

"Well, it is a bit obvious. And given that fact, I suppose it is understandable that each pill is only good for one order."

"Exactly."

Rangiku pointed at them. "Are you sure they will work?"

"They passed all the tests."

"Good. Then I don't have to worry about them being poisonous or something."

Akon frowned. "That was your main concern?"

"Given how your Captain tends to be…"

"Why would I make something poisonous knowing that the intention was for someone to consume it without harming them?" Akon shook his head. "But I understand the question. That's why we ran tests. They are not harmful to the person who takes them."

"Great!" Rangiku tried to grab the pills but Akon closed his fist and hid it behind his back.

"However, I do have to tell you something very important," he told her. "The one thing we are uncertain of is how long the effects will last. They are a single-use pill, but it's very possible that the suggestion you give the taker will be permanent."

"Permanent?" Rangiku stopped reaching for the pills behind his back. "Meaning that the command I give them will never wear off and they'll be stuck that way forever?"

"So far. It did pass all the tests, but this is the first time we're using it on an actual Soul Reaper. It's still considered an experiment. Therefore, I suggest you word the one command very carefully."

Rangiku frowned. "Oh…" This complicated things a bit. If she got the words wrong, she would get the command wrong. If the command was everlasting, then this posed a problem if it was the wrong one.

"Which is why I suggest you use the second pill to reverse things," Akon told her. "I only have two. Just in case you mess up the first, you can use the second to try again. However, if things go well, I suggest using the second pill to change them back to normal once you got what you wanted."

Once the goal was achieved, there would be no reason to keep the command in place. Unless it was for the better.

Rangiku intended to use the pills to force Kira to be more confident. That way, he wouldn't second-guess himself so much or be a nervous wreck.

Talking to him didn't work. It just made things worse. Using these pills seemed like the best solution. Yes, it was a bit of a shortcut, but she was after results. If talking to Kira wouldn't boost his confidence, then giving him a magic pill to force him to be confident would.

A confident Kira seemed like a wonderful thing. It would be better for everyone, including him. Why would she ever want to change him back? Why would he want to go back?

It was decided in that moment that she would hold on to the second pill in case she got the wording of the command wrong. If she messed it up, then she would get a second shot at getting it right. So what if she would be unable to change him back after that? She would be improving him. It would probably be for the best.

Rangiku nodded. "I understand."

Akon gave her a wary look before putting the pills back in the pouch and handing them over. "He just has to swallow them. Come up with something clever or come right out and tell him to take it."

"Thanks a bunch, Akon," Rangiku said as she took the pouch from him. "You're the best!"

Akon watched her leave, shaking his head. "I shudder to think how she'll screw this up."

* * *

Rangiku brought the pills with her to Kira's Division. During her long walk there, she wondered how she would get him to take them. She could give them to him and tell him to swallow them, but that might not work. She was hoping he would be naive or even indicative enough to obey any order given to him. To be as suggestive as he would be if he had already taken them. If things were that easy, then she wouldn't need to pills. She knew Kira wouldn't swallow something just because he was told to do it. He wasn't stupid.

She could come right out and tell him what they were, but that also posed a problem. Kira might get offended that Rangiku thought he needed a personality make-over. That he wasn't good enough as he was. He would refuse to take them and he would be angry at her. She didn't want to hurt him. She knew what these pills suggested. Of course, he would think such a thing. She also had no luck talking to him. That always made things worse.

Coming out and saying it is what got her in this mess in the first place. She couldn't be obvious about it. Kira would refuse to take them if he knew what they were.

She could lie to him about what they were. He might still refuse to take them, though. She couldn't think of a good enough lie anyway. It would still involve her talking to him which she wanted to avoid, lest he get the wrong idea. She didn't want another misunderstanding.

Perhaps she should hide them. Yes, that seemed like a good idea. An excellent idea.

Before she had all the details worked out, she found herself standing outside Kira's office just as he was walking out.

He stopped and looked at her. "Oh. Hey."

Knowing what had to be done but still unclear on the details, she blurted out, "Kira, come to the 10th Division in a few minutes. I have something for you there."

"For me? What is it?"

"I can't tell you. It's a surprise. Just come, ok? If you don't, I'll hunt you down."

"Uh… Ok. Sure." Kira looked nervous.

"Great! See you in a few!" Rangiku ran back the way she came.

Kira was curious but very nervous. In his experience working under his prank-loving Captain for so many years, Kira knew when someone said they had a surprise for him, it wasn't a pleasant one. The last time he was told to meet someone somewhere for a surprise, he ended up covered in features and stuck to the wall by super adhesive Gin got from the 12th Division. It took him all day to get down and he had to get a new kimono.

Rangiku wasn't like Gin, even though they were childhood friends. If she had a surprise for him, it wasn't likely to be as bad as something Gin would give him. It was more likely to involve sake or something else she would like. Still, in the back of his mind, Kira feared a prank.

He would find out when he got there. Just to be safe, he would open the door slowly.

* * *

Rangiku finally had it all figured out. She grabbed the pork buns Hisagi had made for her and stuffed the pill inside. Just in case Kira didn't pick the one with the pill, she decided to put a pill in both of them. She would have him choose the one he wanted and save the second bun in case she didn't word the command correctly. Using these buns meant she would have to get her own lunch later, but this was a lot faster than making something herself and putting the pills inside.

Now to make it look pretty. She wanted Kira to see all the trouble she went through for him so he would be more inclined to eat what she offered him. She also lured him to the office by saying she had a surprise for him. What better surprise than a gift? She had to make it look like one.

She found a tin she kept cookies in and decided to use that. She ate the cookies quickly so she would have the empty tin to work with. She kept the paper lining inside, shaking off the cookie crumbs, and placed the pork buns inside. They fit perfectly. She placed the lid on top and tied the whole thing with a pink ribbon she found in her desk. Good thing she never got around to cleaning it.

She set the tin on the corner of her desk and admired her work. This was sure to get Kira to eat one of them.

Outside her office, several Soul Reaper women were gossiping. Rangiku wanted to know what was going on, but she had to wait for Kira to arrive. When one of the women shrieked, Rangiku hurried out of the office to see what had happened.

"It's that guy again from the 11th Division," said the girl. "He keeps flirting with all the women, the pig. He just ran by and slapped me on the butt!"

"He is a pig, that guy," said another.

"I'm sure he followed us back here. We walked by the dojo before and he whistled at us."

Rangiku puffed out her cheeks. "Oh, he's a dog. I heard of him. He's new. Just graduated, I think."

"Has he hit on you yet, Lieutenant?"

"Oh, yeah. Commented about my chest. I bet that's why he came here to annoy the women in this Division. Anything that will up his chances to see me."

"How do you put up with guys like that? They're animals."

"That's why I have no interest in that kind. They won't do anything for you, just make rude comments and grab you. Who needs that? Pay him no attention. Wait for one of the decent ones to show up and chase him off."

Rangiku didn't mind getting a guy's attention as long as he did something for her in return, especially if he turned out to be someone she could get involved with. It was men like the one who harassed the girls she couldn't stand. They were in it just to get a reaction. They wouldn't sweet-talk a girl or buy her dinner or flowers. Men like that disgusted her. She had to agree with the other women. Men like that were animals. She went for the decent ones with a little heart. Men who cared about the girl and performed kind gestures. Even if they didn't always show their sensitive side, she knew they cared because of the things they did without having to be asked.

For a brief moment, she thought about Gin. She didn't always understand him, but she did care about him. Only after he was gone did she realize how much he cared about her. Going so far, even becoming a villain and siding with one, just to make sure she was safe. To make her future a brighter one.

He annoyed her and infuriated her and left her confused, but she couldn't help but miss him. She thought about him often and remembered the good times they had. The times he made her smile and laugh. How she could rely on him.

He was a mystery to her, but clearly, he was her friend.

"Rangiku?"

She flinched and looked around. She caught herself thinking about him again and pondering the mysteries, forgetting that she had a mission to see through.

Kira was walking down the hall, coming closer to her. She quickly ran back into the office and waited for him to follow.

* * *

How will Rangiku screw this up? Read and find out. ^-^

Please review!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

"I still don't see why you had to drag me here. You didn't even give me time to leave my body behind. It takes two seconds."

"Quit your complaining."

"I'll complain if I want to," Ichigo said, still in his human form. "You couldn't have waited for me to change?"

"I told you, we're in a hurry," said Rukia.

"Which explains why we're walking down the hall rather than racing. If we're in such a hurry, why are we walking?"

"Why are you running your mouth if you're so tired?"

"Who said I was tired?"

"You were complaining about it the whole way here."

Ichigo grit his teeth. "Hungry. I said I was hungry. You pulled me along before I could even get something to eat."

"You just ate breakfast."

"That was hours ago!"

Rukia put her hands on her hips and turned. "Then you're not starving. You have something in you. You can wait a few more minutes until we finish up."

"You still haven't told me what this is about. I miss lunch and get dragged here against my will and I still have no idea why. I don't get to eat for what?"

"You will get to eat when we're through here."

"Through with what? You still haven't told me."

Rukia turned back around and folded her arms. "We're attending a brief meeting."

"A meeting?" Ichigo groaned loudly. "I get to miss lunch and dinner!"

"I said it would be a brief meeting."

"Are those ever brief?"

"I was asked to bring you along and it's real important, so quit your complaining." Rukia picked up the pace.

"Most of the time, doesn't this involve us waiting around anyway while things are being set up and wait for other people to arrive?"

"I know the point you're trying to make and don't bother. You're not running off to get food."

"If you know me well enough to get that's what I was planning, then why don't you know me well enough to know I'll fight tooth and nail when it comes to a hot meal? You're getting between me and my food, Rukia. Dragging me here… You should know I'd be pissed."

"Cranky is the word I would use," she told him. "You're acting like a spoiled child."

"I am not."

Rukia stood outside one of the offices. She knocked and let herself in. Ichigo stood in the doorway, looking in. He heard Rukia ask if someone was ok and grew concerned. Moments later, Rukia came back and told him the situation.

"Captain Ukitake was supposed to be a big part of the meeting, but he's not feeling well. We'll have to wait until he feels he's ready."

"So I can go home now?" Ichigo asked her.

"No!" she snapped. "It took me ages to find you and bring you here. The moment he gets better and you're not here, I have to go fetch you again. What if we come back and he's feeling sick again? You're staying right here! It'll save time. Once the meeting is over, you can go do what you want."

Ichigo sighed. "Can I at least eat while I'm waiting?"

"Fine," she told him bitterly. "Anything to stop your whining."

"I'm not whining!"

"Sure sounds it!"

Despite what she said, Rukia took her sweet time taking Ichigo somewhere to eat. Ichigo wasn't sure where to find food so he trusted Rukia to bring him there. When she ran errands instead, he grew very impatient and agitated.

From one hallway to another, to this office and that office, she led him around everywhere but where he wanted to go. She stopped to chat several times, most of it involved business, but some were social chats.

When her latest conversation lasted more than twenty minutes, Ichigo got up and left. "I'm out of here," he muttered to himself and he sneaked away.

To make sure he wasn't found quickly, Ichigo distanced himself as much as possible. He left the building altogether and kept going. He didn't know where he was going, he just wanted to get as far away from her as possible.

He hoped to find a café or something so he would finally get his wish. With so many Soul Reapers gathered in this city, there must have been a cafeteria somewhere. Even Soul Reapers had to eat.

Food on the brain, Ichigo wandered around.

* * *

Kira cautiously opened the door and peered inside. Rangiku waved him over with her hand. Once certain nothing was going to drop on his head from above, Kira stepped inside.

"What's this surprise you told me to come get?" he asked. He was still hoping this wasn't a prank. Or Rangiku's way to swindling him into doing her work for her. That was another concern.

Rangiku smiled cheerfully at him. "I've got something for you." She held up a tin box with both hands. "Ta-da!"

Kira hoped nothing would spring out of that. Gin had done something similar a few years ago, rigging a jar with springy snakes inside that launched at his face when he opened it. He knew Rangiku wasn't like his former Captain, but he still proceeded with caution, remembering the past.

Rangiku opened the tin for him and showed him what was inside. "See? Pork buns!"

Kira looked at them. "Uh-huh. Very nice."

"For you."

"For me?" Kira raised his brown. "Why?"

"It's a present. A kind of peace-offering." Rangiku held it out for him to take. "I felt bad about what I said before. It came out all wrong. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, so I got you this to make up for it. It's a token of my apologies."

Hopefully this was a good enough story to fool him.

"A gift, huh?"

"Yup!"

Kira frowned. "That's nice of you, Rangiku, but you don't have to. I'm sure you didn't mean what you said that way. I was probably being overly sensitive."

"But still, I got you a gift." Rangiku pouted. "Don't tell me you're refusing a present I got especially for you. It's a token of my apologies."

Kira sighed. "Alright. Thank you." Kira took the tin, but he didn't touch either pork bun.

"Aren't you going to eat one?" she asked.

"I'll save it for later."

This wouldn't do. If she wasn't around when Kira ate one, then someone else might mistakenly give him a command. This was going to ruin her plan. She had to make sure he ate one in front of her.

"Come on," she whined. "I want to know what you think. Please?"

When she whined like this, it was just easier to do what she wanted. Anything to stop that noise.

"Alright, alright."

Kira reached into the tin and took one of the pork buns. Rangiku watched him with eager eyes. He took a bite.

The pork bun was a decent size, so she knew he couldn't possibly have eaten the pill yet. She had to make sure. It was safe to assume that if he finished the bun, he would have swallowed the pill. She had to make sure he ate the whole thing to be safe.

When he was going for a second bite, the girls outside the office started making a fuss again. She had to see what the trouble was. She couldn't have this commotion going on. It would ruin her scheme. She also had to make sure everything was alright.

She left the office and Kira continued eating.

Ichigo heard a commotion going on in the hall and moved closer to see what was going on. When he saw Rangiku talking to a bunch of women and the word 'men' come into play, Ichigo knew to hightail it out of there. He heard more women behind him. Concerned one of them might be Rukia, he ducked into the nearest office.

Kira looked up when he heard the door slide open. He saw Ichigo force his way inside and shut the door. He leaned against the wall, listening to the voices in the hall. None of them were Rukia's, but he wasn't going out there again with so many gossiping women.

"Hey, Ichigo."

He flinched and spun around. "Oh, it's just you, Kira."

Kira noticed Ichigo's casual attire and wondered why he wasn't a Soul Reaper. A question he asked Ichigo moments later.

"She pulled me to the side when I was walking down the street. I was on my way to get lunch and she said she needed me. I couldn't leave my body in the middle of the street and we weren't near Kisuke's shop, so she took me as is and brought me here for some meeting. She hasn't told my any details. Ukitake was supposed to join us but he's not feeling well, so Rukia told me to wait here rather than bring me back home."

"Makes sense," said Kira. "By the time she brings you back there, Captain Ukitake might feel better and that means she'll have to go get you again, which means more time will be wasted while they're waiting for her to find you and bring you back here. It'll take less time if you're here already."

"Which is the gist of what she said," Ichigo told him.

"So what brings you here of all places?"

"I'm hiding from her, mostly. I'm also starving. She said she would get me lunch but she's too busy and it's been a couple hours."

Ichigo's stomach growled.

Taking pity on the teenager, Kira held out the tin, offering him the second pork bun.

"Here, take this."

"I can eat that?"

"Sure, I have two of them. I'm not all that hungry to begin with."

"Thanks, Kira. You're a lifesaver." Ichigo grabbed the pork bun and took a huge bite. "Where'd you get these?"

"Rangiku gave them to me."

"These aren't hers, are they?" he asked.

"No. She gave them to me as a gift."

"Oh." Ichigo continued eating. "Mm, it's so good."

"They would be. Hisagi made them."

Ichigo paused again, his mouth full. "I thought you said Rangiku gave them to you."

"She did, but I bet Hisagi made them for her. I know his cooking anywhere. He makes lunches for people all the time, including me."

"Ah." Ichigo swallowed. "Rangiku doesn't seem like the type that would go out of her way to cook, anyway."

"She does take many shortcuts. But at least they're Hisagi's work, so I know it's going to be good. No offense to Rangiku, but I'm not sure I'd trust her cooking."

"True." Ichigo wandered closer to the window behind one of the desks. "Is it ok if I hang out here for a bit?"

"Sure, have at it."

"Thanks."

Rangiku went back into the office and closed the door. "If I have to hear about that guy from Squad 11 again, I'm going to…" She saw Kira had almost finished his pork bun. Excited, Rangiku hurried over to him. "I see the bun's almost gone."

"Yeah." Kira popped the late bite into his mouth.

His hands empty, Rangiku watched Kira chew and swallow. He must have eaten the pill. He swallowed it for sure. Just to be sure, she offered him some tea to wash it all down. She watched him gulp down the tea.

Unbeknownst to her, the door to the office slid open and someone tiptoed inside. She was too distracted to notice the man from Squad 11 creeping up behind her.

Smiling, Rangiku got ready to give him the command. All she had to say was the phrase 'be more confident' and Kira would do just that. She was positive that phrase wouldn't cause too much trouble. No one could misinterpret it either. It was perfect.

"Kira, I want you to be…"

Someone grabbed her chest from behind and she shrieked.

Kira stared wide-eyed at the man, sure to get his teeth knocked out by the Lieutenant.

The man laughed and ran out of the room. He had been waiting all morning to do that.

Furious, Rangiku called after him as he ran. "You dog! You hear me? You're a dog!"

It was supposed to be an insult and it wasn't even directed towards Kira, but it made no difference. The pill couldn't differentiate. The fact that Kira heard it was enough.

The pill made him highly suggestable, which meant any command or anything that sounded like a command would be carried out as long as it was heard.

All he heard was 'you're a dog' and that was all it took. That was the command he had been given.

Rangiku slammed the door shut and went back to talk to Kira. "Ok, Kira, be more confident."

When she looked at him, Kira was on the floor. He was on all fours, looking up at her. It looked like a position of apology, not confidence.

"Kira? Are you ok?"

"Ruff!"

Her eyes went wide. "Huh?"

"Ruff! Ruff!" Kira's tongue lolled out of his mouth and he started panting.

"Kira, why are you..?" Rangiku remembered what she screamed at the man who left the room. Kira must have heard what she said and thought it was a command. "Oh, no. Oh, no, oh, no!"

Ichigo heard Rangaku fussing about something and turned around, still munching on the pork bun.

Rangiku grabbed Kira by the shoulder. "Kira? Can you hear me?"

"Ruff!" He tried to lick her face.

"You… You're a dog!" she exclaimed.

Ichigo dropped the uneaten half of the pork bun on the ground and dropped to his knees.

"Kira, snap out of it! You're not a dog, ok? Kira? Kira!"

He barked again.

"Oh, no!" She gasped. "The other pork bun! I can reverse this!"

She grabbed the tin but it was empty. Had Kira eaten them both? What did that mean? Would make the command twice as strong or could she command him again? No, she told him he wasn't a dog and there was no change.

She saw Ichigo sitting behind Kira and cocked her head. "Ichigo? What are you doing here?"

"Ruff!" he barked.

"Ichigo..?" Her eyes found the pork bun on the floor with several bites taken out. "Oh, no! Ichigo, you didn't! That wasn't for you!"

He barked again.

Rangiku ran over and opened Ichigo's mouth with her fingers. "Spit it out! Spit it out right now!" She ran up behind him and started to give him the Heimlich. No matter how much she squeezed him, he wasn't spitting anything out.

She let go of Ichigo and sat on the floor, wondering what to do. When she caught sight of the pork bun again, she had another idea.

Perhaps there were traces of the pill still inside. Maybe if he finished it, she could command him again and tell him to return to normal.

She picked up the pork bun halve and shoved it in his mouth. "Eat up, Ichigo. Go on."

Ichigo ate from her hand and licked her palm clean, happy to be fed.

Rangiku wiped her hand off on his pant leg and told him, "Ichigo, you are a human."

He looked at her.

"Well?"

"Bark!"

"You have got to be kidding!"

Rangiku looked at the empty tin and at the two new office dogs she had mistakenly created.

The pills were only good for one command. Both had been eaten and both hand been given a command, even if it was by accident. She only had two pills and they had both been used. There weren't any more. According to Akon, it was possible that the commands were permanent. Once commanded, there was no way to switch them back.

Kira and Ichigo were dogs and there was no way to change them back.

Once that reality set in, Rangiku slumped to the ground. "What do I do now?" she asked herself miserably.

* * *

Oh, crap!

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	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:**

This was a disaster. Rangiku had no idea how to fix this or how to hide it from her Captain. If he found out about this, he was going to do a lot more than just yell.

Rangiku looked around but nothing was jumping out at her. She just saw Ichigo and Kira crawling around on the floor. She had no idea what to do.

In her desperation, she stood up and went over to the door to the office. She stuck her head out and looked up and down the hallway. There weren't too many people around anymore. This was good news just in case either one of them barked. It would be rather hard to explain.

She felt something paw at her leg. She looked down and saw Kira looking up at her. "Shoo, shoo," she hissed. Kira tried to stick his nose out into the hall to look around but she couldn't have that either. She grabbed the back of his kimono and pulled him away from the door.

When she looked into the hall a second time, she saw her Captain walking towards the office.

A jolt of fear shot through her body and Rangiku shoved Kira away from the door and told him to be quiet. When all he did was stare at her, she quickly went into the hall and closed the door behind her.

"Hi, Captain!" she said louder than necessary.

"Hi," he said flatly.

"What brings you here?"

He raised a brow at her. "This is my office."

"Of course, of course." She gave a nervous laugh.

Hitsugaya tried to enter the room but Rangiku wouldn't let him. She blocked the door with her body.

"Captain, don't go in there."

"Why not?"

"Because… Because…" She searched for answers. She had to keep him out of that room. "Because… I'm doing paperwork in there."

Hitsugaya looked at her skeptically. "Really?"

"Yes, and I need all the concentration I can get."

"Do you, now?" He wasn't buying it.

"I wanted to get all the work done in order to surprise you. So please stay out of the office for a while, ok, Captain?"

Hitsugaya folded his arms. "Just what are you hiding in there that you don't want me to see?"

Rangiku laughed and gave a wave of her hand, dismissing his words. "Oh, Captain, you are too suspicious! You worry way too much. Can't I do something nice for you for a change?"

Hitsugaya stared at her then shrugged his shoulders. "Alright. If that's the case, let me see what you've accomplished so far."

She blocked the door with her arms outstretched to either side. "And ruin the surprise? Oh, Captain, you should know better."

Hitsugaya was getting agitated now. "Let me in."

"I can't, Captain."

"You're hiding something."

"No, I'm not."

"Then let me in the office."

"But you'll ruin the surprise."

"I hate surprises."

"No, you don't. You love them."

"I'd love for you to move."

Rangiku stood where she was.

Hitsugaya stood as tall as he could and gave her an order. "Rangiku, as your Captain, I order you to move away from this door. Right now!"

"Using your authority to muscle your way through. Don't you think that's a little…"

"Now!" he snapped. "Do it!"

He did have authority over her. She had to obey him, no matter how much she didn't want to.

"But, Captain…." She whined.

"Rangiku…" he said in a warning tone.

She sighed. "Ok…" she whined again and stepped aside.

"Thank you." Hitsugaya opened the door and went inside.

Rangiku bit her lip. She could always try picking him up like a child and carrying him away, but something told her that would enrage him even more than her refusing to let him into the office. She would end up a frozen statue if she tried such a thing.

Hitsugaya expected to find discarded bottles of sake around the room but he found nothing of the sort. Usually she would try to hide such a thing from him which was what he assumed she was trying to keep him from seeing. There must have been another reason why she didn't want him in here. He found it hard to believe she was telling the truth about doing paperwork. Impossible, really. He searched for any other possibility.

Then he discovered two people staring at him from the other side of the room.

"Ichigo, when did you get here?"

Ichigo didn't respond.

"Oh, I see," said Hitsugaya. "You're hiding from Rukia. I heard about your meeting, but it was canceled on account of Ukitake. Don't worry, I won't tell her where you are."

Ichigo sniffed the air then turned away and looked out the window.

Rangiku held her breath. So far, Hitsugaya hadn't noticed anything amiss, but that was sheer luck. If Ichigo had barked or came over on all fours, then her Captain would have noticed for sure. The fact that Ichigo hadn't said anything meant she was safe for a few more seconds.

"See?" Rangiku said, trying to hurry him out of the room. "Nothing's going on. Now, if you please, I'd like to get back to work."

"If you were hiding Ichigo in here, why didn't you just tell me in the first place?" Hitsugaya asked her. "You think I'm a snitch? I wouldn't tell her where he was."

"Yes, well, anyway…"

Hitsugaya looked down at Kira who was on all fours, pawing at something under the desk.

"Lose something, Kira?" he asked.

Rangiku held her breath again. She silently begged Kira not to make a sound.

"Kira?"

He looked up.

"Everything alright?" Hitsugaya asked him, bending down. "Why aren't you saying anything?"

Kira licked the tip of Hitsugaya's nose.

"Wha..?!" Hitsugaya jumped back.

"Dammit," Rangiku squeaked.

"Kira, what did you do that for?" Hitsugaya wiped his nose off on his sleeve. "Are you drunk?"

Kira said the only thing he could say. "Bark!"

Rangiku hissed inwardly in horror. This wasn't good.

"Huh?"

Kira opened his mouth and barked again, letting his tongue dangle over his teeth.

Ichigo joined him, barking and panting heavily from where he sat by the window.

"Kira? Ichigo?" Hitsugaya looked from one to the other then yelled, "Rangiku!"

"Yes?" she asked nervously.

Hitsugaya pointed. "Why are these two acting like dogs?"

"Surprise?"

He knew there was a reason Rangiku didn't want him in here and now he knew why. She didn't want him to discover this.

There was no lie that could save her from this. Her Captain found out. He knew they were dogs. She couldn't say they were playing a game or were really, really drunk, and she couldn't say it was a bet. She had to tell him the truth about what happened.

In hopes of saving herself from further punishment, Rangiku started the explanation by saying, "It wasn't my fault."

"I'll be the judge of that," said Hitsugaya. "Explain."

Rangiku sighed. "See, after I upset Kira before, I wanted him to feel better and be more confident, but I was worried he wouldn't understand or he'd still be really pissed off about before, so I asked Akon to whip something up that would allow me to make Kira more confident so things would bother him less. He said that the pills he gave me would force the person who swallowed them into a highly suggestive state so they would obey the first command they hear. I wanted to tell him to be more confident, but instead I accidently said 'you're a dog' and Kira and Ichigo both heard the command and now they're dogs. But I swear I only gave the pill to Kira. I have no idea how Ichigo got it."

"How is the least of our problems right now, Rangiku!" He pointed. "Look at them!"

"I know, I know, I'm sorry!" Rangiku was truly upset and not because she got caught. "I didn't mean for this to happen. I just wanted Kira to not be so sensitive about things."

"So instead of confronting the problem by talking to him, you instead try to change his personality?"

Rangiku paused. "Well, when you say it like that…"

"There's no other way to say it!"

"I just thought if he was more confident, stuff he's so sensitive to would bother him less. That's all."

Hitsugaya rubbed his temples. "Why didn't you just talk to him about this? Why did you go for the quick fix? A fix that you got us both into?"

"I tried talking to him before, but it came out all wrong and only ended up making him feel worse. I didn't want to risk making it even worse than it already was, so I thought this was the best way to handle it."

"By changing him? You thought the way to handle him being sensitive to your words was to turn him into someone who can take what you dish out? Not to be more mindful of what you say and work on thinking before you speak? Or act, for that matter?"

"I thought I did think this through. I didn't expect this to happen. I'm sorry, Captain."

Hitsugaya looked at the two boys staring at them with curious eyes. "We have to fix this."

"I know that, but I don't know how. The pills Akon gave me only work once and he only gave me two of them. They're gone. These two swallowed them."

Hitsugaya tried snapping his fingers. "Wake up, you two. Snap out of it."

"I already tried that."

"Then the only thing we can do now is let the others know what happened and try to come up with a solution."

"No!" Rangiku grabbed his wrist before he could leave the room. "We can't let anyone find out about this. If the Head Captain finds out or anyone else for that matter…"

"Then we won't have a way to solve this. Rangiku, we can't cover this up. They can't stay in this office forever. Hiding them won't solve anything. Ichigo has to return to his home and Kira has to fulfill his duties as a Lieutenant."

"But if we spread the word about this and march them around the Soul Society in this state, think of what will happen," Rangiku explained. "If people see them like this, they'll be humiliated. Especially Kira. You know how sensitive he is. If word gets out that he was crawling around barking like a dog, they'll never let him live it down. Whether or not they know it's not his fault. Even if I tell people I'm responsible for his state, they'll still make fun of him mercilessly. Ichigo, too. He'll never be able to show his face here again. Do you really want them both to be laughed at and ridiculed for something that is beyond their control?"

She had a point. Not everyone in the Seireitei could be deemed reasonable. Hitsugaya could name several people off the bat who would willingly make fun of both of them even knowing it wasn't their fault. Even knowing how sensitive Kira was, they would harass him at every turn. Hitsugaya didn't want to be responsible for that. Kira was bullied in the past for less. This. This was much worse. Kira never acted like a dog before and was picked on. Hitsugaya could only imagine how much worse it would be for him if people found out about this.

If their positions had been switched, Hitsugaya would never want anyone to know he acted this way, even if it was done with the intention of helping him return to normal. He would want this to be handled as discreetly as possible.

"You're right. We can't let them leave the office and have people see them like this. And we can't let word spread about this, either. For their sakes."

Rangiku let go of his wrist. "Thank you, Captain."

"They shouldn't have to pay for your mistakes."

Rangiku hung her head. "Thanks, Captain…"

Hitsugaya started to pace the room. "Hmm. Even if we did spread the word, it's very likely that most people would be unable to help with this situation. And if a pill was responsible, there's no reason to go to the Head Captain for this. He wouldn't know what to do. If you got this pill from the 12th Division, then that is where we need to go to get help for these two. We need to speak with Akon."

"Good thinking, Captain," said Rangiku. "But Akon told me there was no cure for this. At least, that's what I think he said."

"We still have to try. We can't leave them like this. We'll go to the lab and ask Akon for help. If he gave you the pills in the first place, then he must know what to do."

"Ok, let's go."

Rangiku and Hitsugaya started to leave then noticed the two crawling after them. Ichigo and Kira couldn't be left alone. Who knew what kind of trouble they could get into with the minds of dogs and the bodies of a teenager and Soul Reaper? Besides, what if someone entered the office and saw them? That was exactly what they wanted to avoid.

"New plan," said Hitsugaya. "I'll go to the lab. You stay and look after these two."

"Got it."

"I'll be right back. Keep them here and keep them out of sight."

"You can count on me, Captain."

Hitsugaya muttered on his way out.

This was not how he expected to spend his day. He had a mountain of paperwork to get through and now he had to help Rangiku handle two dogs? Hopefully her babysitting skills were better than her problem-solving skills.

* * *

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	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

Hitsugaya went straight to the 12th Division and demanded to see Akon at once. The men in lab coats pointed to one of the rooms and Hitsugaya let himself in.

Akon was staring at a beaker with another Squad member, taking notes on what they saw. When Hitsugaya stomped over to the table and cleared his throat, Akon dismissed the other researcher.

Once they were alone, Akon asked in a bored tone, "How badly did she screw it up?"

"Clearly you've been expecting this."

"A little earlier, to be honest. What's she done now?"

"She accidently gave Kira the wrong command and used up both pills, one on Ichigo and the other on Kira. Now they both think they're dogs."

"How's Ichigo play into all this? Oh, never mind. The point is that she mistakenly gave Ichigo the same command she did Kira."

"And with both pills used up, there's no way to correct the problem." Hitsugaya folded his arms. "We need two more pills. I'll tell them both to return to normal and that will be the end of it. Don't indulge her again. She can't keep doing the quick fix. Look what happened this time."

Akon lowered the clipboard in his hand, giving Hitsugaya a look. "I don't have any more pills. Those were the only two I had and I gave them both to her."

"Then make more of them."

"I can't, Captain Hitsugaya. Do you have any idea how many resources it took to make those two? I've depleted our inventory."

Hitsugaya refused to take no for an answer. "There has to be another way. Get more ingredients. Find some. We can't leave those two like this."

Akon put the clipboard on the table next to the beaker. "The primary ingredient in those pills came from a plant that's used to make a certain type of drug that causes the person taking them to become more compliant. They don't act drugged, but they are unable to resist the person giving them orders. The plant causes this to happen because its properties make the consumer very suggestive. You could tell them to do anything. But that plant doesn't grow around here, making it extremely rare."

"You don't have any more in the stockroom or something?"

He shook his head. "I used the last of it on those pills."

"And you cannot get more of it?"

Akon hissed inwardly. "Ah… Hm. It would take me some time. I'd have to talk to the Captain for starters. He has to approve it."

"Then get permission, find the plant, make the pills and let's get these two back to normal." Hitsugaya started to walk away then stopped. "And this stays between us. Don't go broadcasting it to everyone."

"For fear of those two being teased mercilessly by everyone who finds out?" Akon nodded with a small smirk. "I gathered. Then keep them far away from the 11th Division. They're always looking for something."

Hitsugaya left the lab, eager to return to the office. He hoped Rangiku wasn't getting into too much trouble.

* * *

Kira scratched at the door with his fingers, whining. He wanted to go exploring. Rangiku pulled him away by the back of his kimono. He whined again, unwilling to come.

Ichigo started doing the same thing. He scratched at the door and barked. He wanted to go outside, too. Rangiku dragged him away and he fought against her, pulling in the opposite direction.

Kira went for the door again and Rangiku had to let go of Ichigo to stop him.

While she was distracted, Ichigo started sniffing around the office. He crawled over to Hitsugaya's desk and eyed the tower of papers balanced on the corner. He lifted himself up and gave the stack a push with his nose. Then he gave it another push with his hand and the pile fell.

Rangiku heard the noise and spun around. "Ichigo!"

He cringed at her voice and crawled under the desk to hide.

Rangiku tried to gather up the papers, but there was no guarantee they would be in the same order. As she did this, Ichigo discovered something else. He grabbed a curtain in his teeth and pulled. The curtain came crashing down and Rangiku yelled his name again.

Ichigo bolted to the other side of the room and grabbed a pillow in his teeth next. He shook his head from side to side, letting the pillow swing back and forth, hitting the sides of his face. Kira grabbed the same pillow and they both played tug-of-war with it.

"Guys, could you not..?" What was the use? They wouldn't listen to her anyway.

Ichigo and Kira dropped the pillow and started to bark at each other playfully. Ichigo tried to tackle Kira but he shoved him away. Ichigo barked again and Kira jumped on top of Rangiku's desk.

"Kira, get off that," Rangiku ordered.

Ichigo crawled to Hitsugaya's desk again and grabbed a file in his teeth. The papers spilled onto the floor and Ichigo dropped the file. He tried to tip over the Captain's teacup but rangaku wouldn't let him.

"It's so hard to wrangle a couple of dogs like this," Rangiku whined.

Kira mimicked her whine and started to paw at the floor. Ichigo barked loudly and Rangiku shushed him.

"How do we do this? If you two keep this up, you'll end up wrecking the office and people will notice you. What to do? What to do?"

Then it dawned on her. They were probably just restless. If she tired them out, they should be easier to handle.

Rangiku took the stress ball out of her desk and held it up for them to see. "You guys wanna play?"

Ichigo and Kira looked at the ball as if it were gold. They lowered themselves to the ground and started to pant happily. They did want to play.

"You want it? You want it? Go get it!" Rangiku tossed the ball across the room and the two fell over each other to find it. She grabbed it from them and threw it again. They chased the ball across the floor and collided with the bookcase. Rangiku scooped up the ball and tossed it to the other side of the room. They scrambled after it again with big smiles on their faces. They were loving this.

Even she had to admit that this was fun.

Kira was the first to get the ball. He picked it up in his mouth and brought it back to Rangiku. The ball wasn't too slobbery so she didn't mind touching it. She threw the ball again and Ichigo fetched it this time. Rather than give it up, he held onto it and chewed it. Rangiku took it from him and tossed it.

Back and forth and back and forth, they ran across the room, chasing that stress ball. She didn't know how long they were playing but her arm was getting tired and so were they. The two had stopped chasing the ball and Kira batted it against the bookcase with his hand for a while then laid down, no longer interested. Ichigo found a place on the floor to rest, panting heavily.

She had successfully worn them out. Now they were quiet and still.

Rangiku looked out the window, tired herself. She wondered when her Captain would get back.

"What the hell happened here?" Hitsugaya snapped.

Rangiku looked around the room at the fallen papers, the tossed pillows and the overturned coffee table. The room was a mess, but it would have been a lot worse if she hadn't tidied up when she did. All of this was from their play.

Something told her than Hitsugaya wouldn't buy it if she told him that if they hadn't played fetch in the office that it would look a lot worse.

"Akon says it will take some time. We'll have to keep an eye on these two and check in with Akon every now and again," he told her.

"Ok." Rangiku put the stress ball back in her desk. "I'm hungry. I'm going to get something to eat."

Hitsugaya folded his arms. "Sneaking off, are we?"

"No. I'm actually hungry. I worked hard to keep them secret, Captain."

"Worked hard, she says…" he grumbled. "The office looks like a tornado went through it and she says she handled them. Looks to me like you let them do as they pleased."

"They're a lot harder to wrangle than you think, Captain. I really did work hard. Besides, they'll need food, too."

Hitsugaya sighed. "Stay here with them. I'll get us some food."

"But you just got back."

"Just keep an eye on them. I'll be back soon." Hitsugaya thought Rangiku would take her sweet time in getting back, if she came back at all. It would be a lot easier and better for them all if he went.

"If you insist, Captain."

Watching them turned out to be really easy this time since they were all tuckered out. Ichigo and Kira just slept while the Captain was away, giving Rangiku time to relax.

In the hallway, Hitsugaya passed several Squad members. A couple of women asked where Rangiku had disappeared to and he lied about where she was. He didn't want anyone going into his office and discovering Ichigo and Kira.

"When you can, please tell her that there's a Women's Association meeting she has to attend tomorrow morning, Captain. Lieutenant Nanao told us to tell her but we don't know where she is."

"I'll let her know," he told them and went on his way.

He returned with two bowls of rice and entered his office. He set one bowl down in front of Rangiku and placed the second on the coffee table. He told Rangiku about the meeting tomorrow morning and she thanked him.

Ichigo and Kira sniffed the air from the couch. Spying the bowl on the table, they came over. They sat in front of Hitsugaya, eyeing the food on the coffee table.

"What?" he asked them.

"I think they're hungry, Captain."

"They're free to eat," he told her. He looked at the pair on the floor. "Go ahead."

They just sat there, staring at the rice.

"I think you have to put it on the floor for them," Rangiku said with a smile.

"The floor?" He wrinkled his nose.

"They think they're dogs, Captain. Where else would they eat?"

Sighing, Hitsugaya took the bowl off the table and placed it on the floor. Ichigo muscled his way to the bowl first and plunged his face into the rice. Rangiku giggled and Hitsugaya looked away. Kira whined and tried to push Ichigo aside so he could have some as well. Ichigo shoved him aside and continued eating. Kira whined and Ichigo ignored him. The rice was starting to disappear from the bowl. Ichigo lowered his face to lick up the last few grains of rice from the bottom. Kira whined again and Ichigo crawled away, but only out of satisfaction. The bowl was empty.

Kira sat in front of it with a sad look on his face.

"Aw, poor Kira," Rangiku cooed. Even though she pitied him, she continued to eat the rice in her bowl. When she was halfway through her meal, she stopped and placed the bowl in front of Kira. "There you go."

Kira hungrily stuck his face in the bowl and started eating her leftovers.

He had only gotten in two bites when Ichigo shoved him out of the way and took the bowl for himself. Kira nudged Ichigo with his shoulder and Ichigo headbutted him. He curled himself around the bowl and ate the rest of the rice.

"That wasn't very nice of you, Ichigo," Rangiku told him. "Either Kira will have to go hungry or we'll have to get more."

Hitsugaya sighed. "I'm only making one more trip. That's it."

"While you're gone, can you pick me up some dumplings at the shop down the road?"

"I'm not going that far," he snapped.

"I'd settle for some cookies."

Hitsugaya left the office, muttering to himself.

* * *

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	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6:**

Rangiku noticed that Hitsugaya was taking his time in getting back. Maybe he was getting her dumplings after all. She opened a magazine and started reading.

She had hardly read a single sentence when she heard fussing. She lowered the magazine and saw Kira and Ichigo shoving each other. Ichigo was winning. Kira crawled away and hid under Hitsugaya's desk.

Losing interest, Ichigo wandered around the office. He sniffed at the window in front of him. Then he put the curtain in his mouth and pulled.

"No, no, Ichigo, don't do that," Rangiku warned.

Ichigo kept tugging and pulled the curtain down.

"Hey, I said stop that!" Rangiku put the magazine down and went over to him. As she tried to fix the curtain, she heard ripping behind her. Ichigo was tearing up her magazine. "No! Stop that! I haven't gotten to the gossip articles yet."

Ichigo took the torn pages in his teeth and galloped around the room.

"Get back here!"

He ran between desks and around all four corners of the room, wanting her to chase him. When she cornered him, Ichigo remained where he was and stared at her. Rangiku pulled the pages from his teeth, shredding them. Ichigo dropped the pieces in his mouth and went behind her desk for the remaining pages.

"No, don't!"

Ichigo and Kira got into a tug-of-war with them, pulling the pages apart with their teeth.

"Stop it!" Rangiku grabbed the center and pulled. Kira let go but Ichigo growled at her and pulled in the other direction. "Ichigo!"

He growled and kept pulling until the pages ripped and he fell backwards. Rangiku stumbled back and looked at the slobbery shredded pieces in her hand. She groaned and tossed them in the trash.

Ichigo took one of the pillows off the couch in his teeth and shook his head from side to side. At this rate, he would rip that, too.

Kira, meanwhile, scratched at the bookshelf and knocked the trashcan over. He batted the empty rice bowl around then started to run around the room.

"Guy, calm down. Knock it off!"

They didn't listen to her at all. When she told them to do something, they wouldn't do it. It was so frustrating. Because of them, the paperwork was out of order, her magazine was ruined and the office was going to be destroyed in a matter of minutes. Even worse, she was left all alone and expected to handle everything. This was so stressful.

"Captain has no idea what it's like…"

Ichigo tossed the pillow onto Hitsugaya's desk and chased after it. The pillow knocked over another stack of papers and Ichigo crumpled them up and ripped them when he jumped onto the desk to get the pillow. He jumped down and started playing with the papers fluttering to the ground, finding them more appealing. He grabbed one in his teeth and started to rip it apart.

"They won't listen to a thing I say. What am I supposed to do?" Rangiku asked herself.

Ichigo kept chewing the paper in his mouth and Kira kept wandering around, knocking things over. They barked at each other and continued doing what they were doing, crawling around on all fours.

Maybe she had been going about this all wrong.

"If they're acting like dogs, maybe I should treat them like dogs."

It was worth a shot. Anything to keep them from wrecking the place.

"Ichigo, sit!"

Ichigo froze.

"Sit!"

Ichigo and Kira both plopped down and sat quietly.

It did work. She had been going about it all wrong. She had been speaking to them as if they were human. They both thought they were dogs, therefore, they had the mind of a dog. Which meant, she had to treat them like dogs and speak to them as if they really were dogs.

Rangiku bent down in front of Ichigo, holding out her hand. "Drop it."

He looked at her hand.

"Drop it," she said firmly.

Ichigo opened his mouth and dropped the paper into her hand.

She patted his head. "Good boy, Ichigo, Good boy."

She looked over at Kira who sat watching them.

"Kira, come here," she said sweetly. "Come on."

Kira crawled over to her and she stroked his head.

"Good boy, good boy."

This may be easier than she thought. Rangiku stood up and looked around the room. She had to clean this place up and get the papers back on the desk. She started to tidy up but stopped when she noticed Ichigo and Kira wandering around and eyeing the fallen items on the ground. Anything within reach became their plaything.

"Sit!"

They sat where they were.

"Stay!"

They looked at her.

She held up her hand. "Staaaay..!"

They didn't move.

Rangiku finished getting everything off the ground before praising them.

"Good job! Good boys!"

Ichigo and Kira rushed over to her and tried to lick her face.

"Good thing these guys think they're trained dogs. Otherwise this wouldn't have been so easy."

Hitsugaya returned with two more bowls of rice. This time, he set them both on the ground equal distance apart. Ichigo ran to one and Kira went to the other. Hitsugaya was relieved to see them both eating separately and went over to his desk.

"No cookies?" Rangiku asked him with a pout.

He growled at her.

"What? I worked hard. I think I deserve it."

"Worked hard?" Hitsugaya pointed. "What the hell happened to my desk?"

"I did try to stop them." She gave him a proud grin. "And I did. I got them to stop."

"Not soon enough. How am I supposed to file these papers when they're all in pieces?"

Rangiku pouted again. "I'm just one person. I was left alone to do all this work and these guys don't listen to a thing I say. You have no idea what it's like."

Hitsugaya shot her a look. "Really?"

"At least they're under control now."

Frustrated, Hitsugaya pointed to the door. "Go get your dumplings or cookies or whatever it is you want. I'll handle things here."

"Are you sure?"

"Just make sure you stop by the laboratory along the way and report back to me before the day is done. I want to know what Akon has to say. Deal?"

"Deal! Thanks, Captain!"

Rangiku left the office thinking this was his way of rewarding her for a job well done. In actuality, he thought he could do a better job. He felt Rangiku wasn't able to handle Ichigo and Kira, so, just like with everything else, he might as well do it himself.

"She must have been slacking off," he muttered after she left. "She let you guys make a mess of my desk and destroy the place. If she had been paying attention, things wouldn't be this bad. But that's how she is. Always looking for the easy way out. Look where it's gotten her this time."

* * *

Yumichika came up behind Renji and gave him a crossed look. "You're an ass, you know that?" he said, folding his arms.

"What'd I do now?" Renji asked, completely confused. Though honestly, he wondered which thing he had actually done, considering his lifestyle. Usually someone was angry at him for something. Typically for not doing something or saying the wrong thing to someone or having an attitude.

"You're having an event and you didn't invite me," Yumichika said bitterly. "Very rude, I'll have you know. Did you ever stop to consider my feelings on the subject? You're letting Ikkaku get involved. I want in."

"Oh, that." Renji gave a brief chuckle, relieved it wasn't something more important. For a minute, he thought he had forgotten to do something important or handed off the wrong paperwork. "No, see, it's nothing personal. It's a Lieutenant only thing. Just us. You're not a Lieutenant, so… We're not even sure we're actually going to let Ikkaku take part. We're just using the dojo."

"Lieutenants only, huh? Then why isn't Yachiru involved? Young as she is, she's still a Lieutenant, believe it or not."

"We didn't want to get kids involved. She's a handful. It's kind of for strong adults, you know."

Yumichika raised his brow. "And I'm not a strong adult?"

"No, you are. It's just…"

"Well, if she's not involved, I can take her place to make things even."

Renji shook his head. "No, we already have our teams of five."

Yumichika frowned. "Five? Shouldn't it be six?"

"The Lieutenant of Squad 1 couldn't do it, so without him and Yachiru it'll be five."

"He couldn't do it or you didn't tell him about it?"

Renji dropped his gaze. "Um… We sort of didn't mention it. Besides, he didn't ask."

"More fun without him, I see." Yumichika grinned. "Well, with two new spots open, I'm sure you'll see your way to include Ikkaku and myself. Right, Renji?"

Renji rubbed the back of his neck. "Um, the teams have kind of already been picked."

"Oh." He looked disappointed.

"Sorry, I didn't know you were interested and it's just for Lieutenants."

"It's alright, I suppose. It sounded like fun. I thought it was for everyone since you were talking to Captain Hitsugaya about it. I figured he was involved."

"Him? No."

"Then why were you talking to him about it?"

Renji thought back. "Oh, I only told him about it because he happened to be in the same room as Rangiku and I came to ask her what she had said to Kira that got him all upset. He wanted to know what we were talking about and so it kind of slipped out. But he's not involved."

"I see." Yumichika seemed satisfied with that answer. "That explains a bit. By the way, what did Rangiku say to upset Kira?"

"We're on the same team and she kind of told him it'd be in his best interest to drop out of the game so we would stand a better chance of winning."

Yumichika frowned, but he had an amused look in his eyes. "That's a little harsh. What'd she go and say that for?"

"She's worried that he'll crack under pressure."

Yumichika shrugged. "I don't know. I've seen Kira fight. He's pretty decent. Not as good as those in our Squad, but still. He can hold his own. He's not weak."

"Weak constitution, maybe," Renji said with a groan. "When he's fighting he's a bit better. He's come a long way from when we were at the academy. He shook all the time back then. But battle or not, the guy's a nervous wreck. As soon as we tell him we're counting on him to win, he starts panicking."

"Then why'd you put that kind of pressure on him in the first place? Don't tell him you're all counting on him and he won't get nervous."

"I'd like to win. We all would. We might have laid it on a little thick back there, telling him how important it was for us to win, then Rangiku made it worse telling him he'd better drop out because we can't trust him not to fold."

Yumichika waved his hands in the air. "Hold on, wait a minute. I like winning as much as the next guy, but isn't this just a stupid game? If you had said nothing at all, you might have stood a chance. Why put emphasis on you guys winning?"

Renji looked to the side. "I may have sort of put money on it."

Yumichika's shoulders slumped. "Oh, that explains it."

"It's not my fault," Renji argued. "Hisagi bet on himself and I sort of matched his bet… then put a little more on us winning. I couldn't let him get all the glory and the money. I could really use the cash. I got a life. There's lots of nice things I want to buy and I might be inclined to take a girl out on a date. It takes cash to do that."

"If you hadn't bet at all, you would have kept that money, but because you placed a bet, now you stand a good chance of losing all that money. Maybe it's none of my business, but I think you should have left it well enough alone."

"You're telling me." Renji groaned loudly. "Now we have to make sure either Kira gets a boost of confidence or get him to drop out. Those two things are completely opposite, so I need to pick one and run with it. I can't give up halfway because one of them wasn't working and then tell him the opposite. My pep talk will be contradictory. It'll confuse him."

Renji was worried if he put fear into Kira, telling him to drop out because he was going to drag the whole team down, then suddenly switch tactics and tell him that they needed him to help the team win, Kira would be too worked up from being told not to participate that he would botch it even with a pep talk. He would psych him out. He had to pick between telling Kira to participate or not and stick with only the positives or negatives. The issue was that Renji wasn't sure which one to go with.

"Why don't you have Hisagi talk to him?" asked Yumichika. "He's usually pretty good at getting through to him."

Renji shook his head. "Nah, he's on the other team. We drew names out of a hat to decide the teams."

"Oh, so they're on opposite teams. Hm. That complicates things." Yumichika shrugged. "Well, if Kira ends up dropping out, give me a holler and I'll be happy to take his place."

"It's still Lieutenants only, Yumichika. If Kira drops out, then to keep things fair, the other team will have to sit a player out. They've got a lot of good guys, so sitting any of them out will give us an edge. Making Hisagi sit this out may or may not happen which is good for us either way."

"Why's that?"

"He's a good player, but everyone knows he's got a crush on Rangiku. If he plays, she plans to flirt with him. That'll throw him off his game. And if he doesn't participate, they're short a good player. See how it's a win-win situation?"

Yumichika nodded up and down. "Hm-mm. I see. Nice strategy. But don't you find the self-sabotage a bit underhanded?" he asked, cocking his head to the side. "I mean, with you talking Kira out of playing in order for the other team to lose a player. You might want to leave things alone."

Renji gave Yumichika a look. "Weren't you listening? If Kira plays, we stand a good chance of losing. If he plays, he's got to give it his all and not fold under pressure. He's got to buckle down."

"Then instead of talking him out of playing, just tell him that you need him. Why are you making this harder than it is?"

Renji folded his arms. "Because Rangiku already talked to him and I'm worried what she said is enough to make him nervous. So nervous that nothing we say or do will bring him out of it. If that's the case, it's better for him not to play. I want to win and I want to win it bad. Besides, saying we need him will put pressure on him. That's why he got nervous in the first place, remember?"

Yumichika sighed and threw his hands into the air. "Fine, fine. Have it your way." He turned and started to walk away. "Your tactics make this game sound a lot more interesting, but something tells me it won't be much fun without Ikkaku there. You won't let either of us play anyway, so have fun with whatever."

It seemed that Renji was convinced that any attempts to boost Kira's confidence would fail, so that meant he would have to talk Kira out of playing altogether. That was the only way their team would win. It was too big of a risk to let Kira play and hope for the best after all the pressure they placed on him.

Kira would only drag them down, but in reality, it was his teammates who caused that to happen. They were the ones weighing him down.

* * *

Please review!


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter: 7**

Akon was hard at work typing on one of the computers when a pair of breasts spilled over the monitor in front of him. He stopped typing and gave Rangiku an annoyed look.

"So," she asked in a flirty tone, "how's it going? Have you finished the new batch yet?"

Akon stared at her, his bored face unchanging. "Not yet," he said flatly.

"Why not?"

"Still working on it. Come back later."

"Later as in hours or..?"

He sighed. "Tomorrow. Come back tomorrow."

"When tomorrow? Captain's asking."

He sighed again. "Afternoon, evening. Somewhere around then. Now please leave me alone. The more people bother me, the longer it's going to take."

This meant less work for her. Rangiku agreed to leave Akon alone and let him work. She hurried out of the lab and started to head back to the office.

Halfway there, she stopped. As long as Hitsugaya thought she was in the lab, she had some free time to do as she pleased. There was no need to hurry back so soon.

She turned around and walked down a different street, looking for something to entertain herself with for a little while.

* * *

Ichigo was awoken by the sound of a pen scratching on paper. He lifted his head off his arm and looked at Hitsugaya. The pen waggled back and forth, but he wasn't in the mood to play having just woken up. He was more interested in the other thing on his desk.

Hitsugaya took a sip of tea from his cup and put it down.

He had food.

Ichigo rose from his spot on the couch and crawled over to the desk. He sat on the floor and stared at the young Captain.

Vaguely aware he was being watched, Hitsugaya looked down. Ichigo continued to stare.

"What?"

Ichigo stared.

Rolling his eyes, Hitsugaya returned to work.

Ichigo stared at him then looked at the desk. Knowing there was something to eat on top, Ichigo balanced himself on his knees for a closer look. From this perspective, he could see the top of the desk and all the papers. And the cup.

Ichigo whined but Hitsugaya did nothing.

Though thinking he was trained to take commands, Ichigo and Kira were under the belief that as dogs, they could jump up onto anything they wished unless told otherwise. If there was food on the table, they were going after it.

Still unaware he could stand on two legs, Ichigo decided to use a stepladder to get to what he wanted. He climbed onto Hitsugaya's lap and leaned his head over the desk.

"Ow! Ichigo! Get off!" Ichigo was pressing his hands and knees into Hitsugaya's thighs. Being bigger and much heavier, it was very painful and Hitsugaya couldn't push him off. "Ichigo, you're crushing me!"

Kneeling on the boy's legs, Ichigo brought his hands up to put on the desk, leaning closer to the cup. This put even more pressure on Hitsugaya's legs.

"Get off!"

Ichigo climbed onto the desk and hovered over the teacup. While Hitsugaya was struggling to get his legs to stop throbbing, Ichigo started to lap up the tea with his tongue.

Hitsugaya looked up and saw what Ichigo was doing and yelled at him. "Knock it off!"

He wasn't listening. Ichigo was still struggling to reach the tea since it wasn't a full cup anymore. He had to stick his nose and chin into the cup in order to reach the liquid.

"That's disgusting, stop it!" Hitsugaya ordered him after seeing Ichigo stick his tongue in the cup. Hitsugaya yanked it away from him, but there was no way he was drinking from it now. "Get!"

Ichigo dodged the waving hand and made his way to the edge of the desk, knocking papers off with his movements.

"No, no!" Hitsugaya cringed, watching the papers fall. Ichigo crouched on top of them, crinkling under his body. When Hitsugaya chased him away this time, Ichigo's movements tore and crumpled a good many of them.

Hitsugaya started to gather them up, grumbling to himself. Ichigo nudged his hand, wanting to be pet. Hitsugaya shoved him away.

Ichigo slunk away, disappointed.

Hitsugaya looked at the clock. "Where is she? This cure can't come soon enough."

Kira was awake now, too, but he was still pretty mellow and didn't want to do anything. Ichigo was more awake now and wanted to do something. He gave Kira a few nudges with his head, trying to get him to play. Kira turned the other way, unwilling. Ichigo tried again, but Kira wasn't interested.

If someone didn't engage Ichigo with some activity soon, he would grow more and more rambunctious. He needed to use the energy building up inside him.

Seeing Hitsugaya still cleaning up papers, Ichigo decided to get his attention. He whined, but Hitsugaya ignored him. Ichigo faced him, bowing his upper body. He wanted to play. When Hitsugaya still ignored him, Ichigo tried something else.

Hitsugaya filed a few papers into a folder and started to set it on the desk. Ichigo reached forward and chomped down on the folder with his teeth.

"Ichigo, knock it off."

He pulled.

"Stop it." Hitsugaya tugged back.

Finally, someone to play with.

Taking Hitusgya's tugging as accepting his invitation to play, Ichigo pulled harder, growling. Hitsugaya tried to get the folder out of his mouth, but Ichigo wouldn't give it up. He tugged with all his might and the folder started to bend.

"Ichigo, knock it off!"

Ichigo pulled the papers out of the folder and dropped them on the ground. He went after the folder again. He bit down on the corner and pulled. Hitsugaya pulled back and the folder ripped in half.

"Ichigo!"

He chewed on the folder before spitting it out, finding it unpleasant. Seeing the other half in the Captain's hands, Ichigo lurched forward and pressed the boy into the floor, reaching for it with his mouth.

"Ichigo! Stop it!"

His hands pressed into his stomach.

"Ow! Ichigo!"

He barked playfully.

"Shh! Be quiet!"

He barked again, getting off Hitsugaya and going after the folder from a different angle.

"Would you..?"

Now more alert, Kira watched the spectacle from the couch, wondering if he should join in. It looked like fun.

Hitsugaya was on his feet, pulling the folder out of Ichigo's mouth. "Drop it!"

Deciding to join, Kira climbed off the couch and came over. He tried to bite the same folder, but Hitsugaya wouldn't let him. Finding a new toy, Kira started to rip another folder apart with his teeth.

"Stop it!" Hitsugaya let go in order to stop Kira.

Finding no amusement in playing by himself with this torn folder, Ichigo went after the papers on the floor. Hitsugaya tried to stop him from tearing them up, but Ichigo thought it was a game and continued. No matter how many times Hitsugaya pulled something from Ichigo's mouth, he would find something else to rip up. He picked up a folder and shook it, slapping his head from side to side, and the papers went airborne. Kira tried to catch them in his mouth, but Hitsugaya was taller on two legs and got to them first.

"Kira! Ichigo!"

Now wound up, Ichigo barked happily and started to race around the office, wanting Hitsugaya to chase him. When he didn't, he picked up other items, knowing Hitsugaya would come after him if he had them.

Hitsugaya chased him down, prying the objects from his mouth. He wouldn't stop. Ichigo kept picking up items and fled from the young Captain, having a wonderful time.

They were wreaking havoc in his office. He couldn't keep up with both of them. If only he could tie them up with something.

Getting an idea, Hitsugaya bound Kira with a Kido to keep him from moving. That only made things worse. Now bound, Kira started whining and howling, wanting to be freed. The sound was too much. It was loud and pathetic. Hitsugaya regretted it immediately.

He released Kira but not just because the sound he made caused Hitsugaya's heart to ache. It was also because he didn't want people drawn by the noise to come in and discover this mess. Besides, it wasn't Kira's fault. Hitsugaya took pity on him.

Kira calmed down immediately and didn't make another noise, but he was pawing at the papers on the floor. Since he wasn't causing any damage, Hitsugaya directed his attention back to Ichigo.

He pulled another document from Ichigo's mouth. Ichigo grabbed another off the desk, knocking over the teacup. To save his papers from being ruined, Hitsugaya grabbed a cloth to wipe it up. He let out a sigh of relief when the pink cloth sopped up the tea before it could reach the rest of his work.

Pink cloth?

Hitsugaya held it up, horrified by what he had grabbed.

In his haste to clean the mess, he had grabbed Rangiku's scarf to mop up the spill by mistake. Her scarf was ruined, soaking wet and stained.

"Oh, no!" Hitsugaya moaned, looking at it. "She's always wearing this thing. I know she loves it."

He didn't bother to question why she wasn't wearing it now, believing it had something to do with the chaos. Perhaps she discarded it in order to stop Ichigo and Kira or maybe they took it from her in order to play. He didn't know and he didn't care. He felt terrible that he had ruined it.

"Maybe I can clean it off?"

Ichigo was tugging on the back of his Captain's jacket, trying to get his attention.

"Not now, Ichigo."

Ichigo growled and pulled harder with his teeth.

"I said, not now."

Ichigo barked and scratched at the back of Hitsugaya's leg. Feeling Ichigo's hand on the back of his leg made Hitsugaya jump and he spun around.

"What?" he snapped angrily.

Ichigo looked from him to the door. He whined and gestured again with his eyes. He wanted to leave the room.

"No. You have to stay here."

Ichigo barked, angry that he wasn't getting his way. As soon as Hitsugaya turned back, Ichigo went over to the door and scratched at it. He wanted out. He wanted to explore. He scratched and whined, but was ignored.

He scratched again and the door moved a little. Curious, Ichigo stopped and stared at it. He scratched again and the door moved a little to the side. He saw a tiny gap between the door and the wall. It was opening. He used his hand to push the door to the side. The door slid a little, moving to the side. A sliding door was much easier to open than one with a knob.

With enough space now available to him, Ichigo wedged his nose into the gap and pushed to the side, opening the door with his face. There was enough space for him to squeeze through now. He looked into the quiet hallway. There was a lot of space to run around. He crawled through the open door in search of playmates.

Hitsugaya turned around just in time to see Ichigo's legs go around the corner.

"No!" Hitsugaya dropped what he was doing and ran after him. He grabbed Ichigo in the hallway and started to pull him back inside. "Get over here!"

Ichigo wouldn't come. He crawled further down the hall, taking Hitsugaya with him.

Scarf still in hand, Hitsugaya looped it through Ichigo's belt and tied it. He yanked backwards and Ichigo halted, feeling something pull him back.

"Get back in the room," Hitsugaya ordered him but Ichigo just sat there. "Come!"

He pulled on the scarf and Ichigo looked at him. The Captain yanked and pulled but Ichigo was too big for him to force. While the shorter of the two struggled, pulling the scarf this way and that, the ginger sat on the ground, unmoving. It was as if he were trying to move a statue.

Finally, Ichigo turned his head to the side and started to crawl away. Hitsugaya was dragged a short distance down the hall before finding his feet and dug his heels into the floor. He ordered Ichigo to come but he wouldn't. He pulled again but the scarf was starting to tear. Hitsugaya stopped before he could rip it in half.

Ichigo pulled the scarf from his hands and continued on his way. Hitsugaya wrapped his arms around Ichigo's shoulder and pulled. Ichigo stopped. Hitsugaya ran in front of him and pushed on Ichigo's shoulders with both hands. It was enough to cause Ichigo to lean backwards but he was still unwilling to go the other way. Hitsugaya pushed harder and Ichigo laid on the ground.

"Go back to the room!" Hitsugaya snapped.

Ichigo lay on his side.

Hitsugaya grabbed Ichigo's arms and dragged him back to the office. Ichigo wasn't moving but his dead weight made it difficult for the small Captain to move on his own. "You've got to be kidding."

He dragged Ichigo back to the office and pulled him inside, closing the door.

Before he could breathe a sigh of relief, he saw Kira ripping up the papers still left on the floor.

"Kira!"

Kira stopped and gave Hitsugaya a fearful expression. Papers still in his mouth, he crawled under the desk to hide.

Hitsugaya fell to his knees. "I'm never going to get anything done with you two around."

Ichigo licked Hitsugaya's hand.

"Gross! Stop that!"

Ichigo growled and looked the other way.

* * *

After treating herself to a snack, Rangiku took herself for a walk through the shopping district. She eyed the specials posted in the window of one of her favorite restaurants. She noted that they were having a discount on sake that evening with meal purchases.

That sounded great, but her wallet was pretty empty. She couldn't pass this up. Who knew when they'd have another special like this again?

A quick look around brought her the solution to her problem. "Oh, Hisagi!"

He stopped where he was. "Yeah?"

She pointed to the sign in the window. "They're having a special tonight. What do you say to a date, hmm?"

"D- d- date?" His cheeks turned red. "Oh, well… I, uh… I'd love to. Sounds great. I just…"

"We can invite others, too. The more the merrier."

His chances to be alone with her were dashed before he could even make arrangements. "I suppose. I'll see if Kira's free."

Rangiku suddenly remembered. "Oh! No, no, no. That's ok. We don't need to invite him."

"Why not? I'm sure it'd cheer him up."

"Don't worry, he's fine. Say, why don't we ask Shunsui? He's always up for drinking. What do you say?"

"Actually, I was going to ask you what you said to Kira. He seemed pretty down before. I hope he's ok."

"He's fine."

"You talked to him?"

Rangiku shifted her gaze from side to side. "Yes…"

Hisagi raised his brow. "Was it about the game we're planning the day after tomorrow? Is he bummed we're not on the same team? I know we're usually together, but we drew random names so it'd be fair. Besides, this way no one would get upset if no one wanted them."

"You didn't want Kira on your team either?" Rangiku gave him a hopeful expression, believing she wasn't the only one.

"What? No. I wouldn't mind him being on my team. Why?"

"Nothing."

Though Kira was a nervous wreck under pressure, Hisagi wouldn't mind him being on his team? He couldn't have been just saying that to spare Kira's feelings because he wasn't around to hear it. This must have been how he really felt.

Did this make her a bad person for not wanting Kira on her team because she was sure they'd lose if he participated? Maybe everyone did have a point. Maybe she was being a bit harsh. It was just a game.

"You know, I haven't seen him since this morning. Do you know where he's at?" Hisagi asked her. "I can stop by and talk to him."

She couldn't let him do that. As long as she stayed quiet, Hisagi wouldn't find out.

But what if he went to his office and Kira wasn't there? Would he go searching for him? Would he go to their office and see if he was there? She had to stop him.

"What?" she told him. "And have you talk him out of playing well so you'd win? Hardly."

"What? I wouldn't do that. That's cheating."

"Well, I can't trust that. Whatever you tell him might convince him to drop out. You might even say the wrong thing and get him more nervous."

Hisagi thought she would be the one to do that, but he wouldn't actually say it out loud. Little did he know, she had already done it, confirming his suspicions.

"I still should pay him a visit. Drinking might calm his nerves. I should invite him along if you still wanted to go out tonight."

Rangiku couldn't let him do that. "Oh, I don't think he'd want to. Besides, you know how much he drinks. We can't have him wasted the day of the game, or have a hangover. We should let him rest up before the game. He'll be fine. Let him get in the zone."

"You want to go drinking, though, and you tend to drink more than Kira. Aren't you worried about being under the weather for the game yourself?"

"I can handle myself. I'm a pro."

"Can't argue with that," Hisagi muttered to himself.

"He probably has tons of paperwork to do. Let's leave him alone, ok?"

"If you say so…" There was no reason why he couldn't pay Kira a visit later. It wasn't as if he needed her permission to do so.

"Great, so forget about-"

"Lieutenant Matsumoto." A Soul Reaper came up to her from the other side of the street. "I'm glad I found you. I wanted to tell you about tomorrow. There's a meeting we'd like you to attend."

"A meeting?" Rangiku thought about what tomorrow was. "I already have two meetings tomorrow. The Women's Association and a Lieutenant meeting. Now I have to go to a third?"

"Please? It's important. We could really use your advice, not to mention your skills. Please?"

She sighed. "Well, alright. If you insist." Once she got her sake fix, she'd be ready to handle three meetings in a single day.

"Thank you, Lieutenant."

Hisagi looked around. "I'd better get back to work. I have a lot to finish before the end of the day."

Rangiku looked at the sky which had turned a darker shade of blue. The sun was going down, but the clouds had not changed color, yet. She still had an hour or two before sunset.

Then she remembered something else.

"Oh! I have to get back to my Captain! He's going to be so pissed." Rangiku took off running.

Hisagi tilted his head to one side. "So… are we getting drinks tonight or what?" She had left without giving him a clear answer.

* * *

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	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter: 8**

"Captain, I'm here!" Rangiku ran into the room and stepped on something that squeaked.

Kira ran to the other side of the room after Rangiku stepped on his hand. For some reason he had been sitting by the door.

Her jaw dropped when she saw the state of the place. "What happened here?"

Hitsugaya was trying to pry his sandal out of Ichigo's mouth. "Where have you been?" he asked, kicking Ichigo in the face, pulling on his sandal with both hands.

His Captain's jacket had been torn and there were papers everywhere, ripped to shreds. His sword was laying on the ground and there were pillows on the bookcase and desk. Rangiku spotted her scarf tied to Ichigo's belt like a pink tail. She wasn't sure what to look at first. With everything everywhere, it was hard to focus.

"Well?" her Captain asked.

"Well, what?"

He gave her an annoyed look. "Do you have the cure from Akon or not?"

"Oh! No, I don't. He said to come back tomorrow evening."

"What?!" Hitsugaya pulled so hard, his sandal came flying out of Ichigo's mouth and smacked him in the face. He tumbled backwards and Ichigo sat there panting, enjoying himself.

This couldn't be. He couldn't suffer through this for another day. Unacceptable.

Hitsugaya got to his feet, rubbing his chin. "If Akon doesn't have a cure, what the hell took you so long to get here and tell me that?"

"Uh…"

"Where you galivanting?" he demanded. "You were out enjoying yourself while I needed you here? Why am I not surprised?"

"I rushed right over," she told him. "I didn't."

Hitsugaya put his sandal back on his foot. "I've had enough. You take over from here."

"But, Captain, I…"

"The paperwork's in shreds. They're lunatics and I'm at my limit. If I'm with them for another five minutes, I'm killing them."

Rangiku knew better than to say anything to get him more riled up, but she had to bring something to his attention.

"Captain, I can take over tonight, but I will need time off tomorrow. Then you can take over again."

He shot her a glare. "I am not babysitting them again. You do it."

"But I have meetings to go to. I can't…"

"I'll do it. I'll go to your meetings for you."

She looked shocked. "You will? But…"

"Your day has got to be easier than this." Hitsugaya took a few deep breaths. "And you actually did do a better job with them than I did. You can handle them better."

That was his reason to swop duties with her. He thought it would be much easier.

Aside from the Lieutenants' meeting, the others she attended couldn't be that serious. All the women did when they got together was chat and eat snacks. He could do that easily. He didn't even consider it a meeting. A get-together was more like it. Social more than serious.

No wonder she wanted time off to go to those. It was a good way to get out of work and socialize. There was no way he was going to let her attend something so recreational while he remained locked in a room with a pair of rambunctious young adults who thought they were dogs.

To Hitsugaya, she wasn't taking this seriously. She'd rather have fun than take any sort of responsibility. Once again, she was passing off her work onto someone else while she had fun. It was so irritating.

Seeing her Captain quietly fuming as he considered her motives for leaving him with Ichigo and Kira while she did something else, Rangiku came to the realization that there was no weaseling out of watching the two. He needed a break and clearly, she could handle them better than he could. She was even flattered he admitted that to her face.

"Alright, Captain. I'll stay here with them tonight and tomorrow," she told him. "But you must go to the meetings in my place."

Hitsugaya looked up at her. "We're not negotiating this. You can't give me conditions."

"But you just offered to go to the meetings for me. I'm not giving any ultimatums."

He sighed. "Sure sounds like it." He straightened up. "As long as we're on the subject, I will make myself clear. In exchange for you staying here and watching these two, I will go to all your meetings tomorrow. But you must remain with them at all times. No sneaking off, no pawning your work onto someone else, no leaving them in a room unattended, even if you lock the door. Is that clear?"

She nodded up and down. "No problem," she said with a smile. "I can do that."

"You won't leave the room?"

"Nope."

"You will stay with them the whole time?"

"Yes."

"You will remain with them in this room?"

"Yes. Until lunchtime when I need a break."

"What did I just say?!"

She recoiled. "Well, um… What about food? We'll all be hungry."

"Your meetings aren't consecutive. I'll bring you food between them."

"Oh, good. But what about the other work I have to do tomorrow? Dropping off files and going from place to place?"

Hitsugaya kicked the pile of shredded paper under his feet. "Considering how most of it is in shreds, I don't think that will be an issue."

Thanks to Ichigo and Kira, the workload for the next day had been reduced drastically. However, this just postponed it. They would have to replace all the paperwork and file it out a second time. In actuality, this meant more work for them, not less.

"Do we have a deal, Rangiku?"

"Yes. I'll stay here and not leave."

"You realize this also means no sake, right?" he asked, eyeing her suspiciously. "You're on the clock, so no drinking."

"It's as if you don't trust me. I know your rule about no sake in the office."

"Then why are they sashed away in several hiding places throughout the place?"

Rangiku flinched. "Um…"

"Never mind. Just take this seriously."

Hearing him say that, Rangiku remembered what had transpired earlier.

"But I am taking this seriously," she told him. "In fact, I just prevented Hisagi from coming into the office and discovering them."

"How so?"

"Well, he said he was going to go talk to Kira, but I knew if he went to his office, he wouldn't find him there. If he didn't find Kira in the office, then he was going to look elsewhere, which means he would come here looking for Kira. I couldn't let that happen, so I told him that Kira wanted some time alone to prepare for the game we're doing."

Hitsugaya put his hands on his hips. "Now why in the world would he come here looking for Kira? What business would he have here, first of all? Second of all, it's far from his Division. How would Hisagi go from Kira's office to ours thinking Kira was here? It doesn't make any sense."

That fact eluded her until this moment.

"So… I chased him off for nothing?"

Hitsugaya rolled his eyes. "It is what it is. Just don't say anymore, ok?"

It was a very long day for him and he wanted to go straight to bed and decompress. Because of different actions taking place, it seemed that the work on his plate was a lot harder than it needed to be. If only Rangiku did exactly as she was told and if she hadn't gone for the quick fix, none of this would be happening. She needed to think before she acted. She couldn't expect others to do the work for her all the time. Why couldn't she be more responsible, like he was?

"Captain, what happened to my pink scarf?"

"…Um…" he said hesitantly.

* * *

After bringing enough food for the three of them, Hitsugaya went to his Squad's barracks to get some rest. Rangiku, Ichigo and Kira ate their dinner in the office.

Rangiku was incredibly bored. There was nothing to do and she had already read her magazine cover to cover twice. She didn't see the point in remaining in the room with them since they would probably just go to sleep for the rest of the night. Without someone to play with, how much trouble could they possibly get into? Did they really need someone to watch them the entire time? She figured they would just stay put until someone showed up.

Could that have been the reason? Was Hitsugaya worried someone would show up in the middle of the night and discover them? Was she only here to chase them off in addition of making sure Ichigo and Kira didn't destroy the office? It would be like him to be so thorough. But who in the world would come to the office in the middle of the night? That part made no sense to her. Everyone was in bed. No one would be working this late.

Ichigo whined and scratched at the door. He scratched sideways until the door started to move. Using his nose, he pushed the door open.

That was why Hitsugaya wanted her here. Ichigo had figured out how to open the door to let himself out.

She got up and pulled him back in, closing the door. As she started to look for the lock in the dim light of the office, Ichigo gave another whine. He had a pitiful look on his face. He really wanted to get out of the office and explore.

"Hm…"

Technically, the condition for her and the others not to leave the office were in place for tomorrow, which meant she could leave the office tonight. That's what she thought, finding a loophole. If everyone had gone to their rooms for the evening to sleep, it wasn't like anyone would see them. This might have been the only opportunity for them to leave the office without being caught.

It was certainly better than staying in all night and doing nothing. This way, she could also tire them out by taking them on a walk. If she tired them out tonight, they would probably sleep all day tomorrow, making her job a lot easier.

It seemed like a good plan, so she decided to indulge Ichigo and take him out for a walk.

She called for Kira to join them but all he wanted to do at this hour was sleep like everyone else. She pulled on him until he got off the couch. She had to take them both with her. Besides, if Kira slept all night, then he would be full of energy tomorrow, making one sleepy and the other wired. She needed them in the same condition or her plan for a relaxing day would be ruined.

"Wanna go for a walk?" she asked Kira and he perked up. "Come on, let's go for a walk."

Kira crawled excitedly to the door and waited for her to open it. Ichigo scratched impatiently until she opened it for them. The two darted out into the hallway and started wandering around.

Rangiku didn't bother to bring a makeshift leash with her, figuring that they couldn't get too far. Since they weren't real dogs, they should have been easier to catch even if they did wander off.

Kira and Ichigo stayed together for the most part, then they started to go in different directions to explore the rest of the hall. Rangiku followed them and if either of them got too far away she called them back and they came. This way, they always remained in the same hall.

She found a long hallway leading to a dead end and started to play fetch with them. She threw the ball down the hall and they chased after it. With all the doors closed and no other hallways to worry about, she could keep an eye on them without worrying about them getting out of sight or lost.

Her shoulder was starting to hurt from all this throwing. It was hard to keep up with Ichigo's energy. Even with a dog's mind, he had boundless energy. Even a dog would get tired after a while. Ichigo had bragged before about being able to jog on a treadmill for hours without getting tired and could push himself further in order to keep up the same pace for days before collapsing. If he was the same way now, Rangiku was worried her plan to tire him out would fall apart.

Then again, men liked to brag and often exaggerated about their own skills. When Ichigo had said that, he said he could go for two days at the same pace before collapsing. That didn't mean he wouldn't get tired, it just meant he could push through the pain before his body finally gave out. He did specify 'collapsing', which clearly meant something else entirely. This meant he could get tired and would. Collapsing just meant his body had given out because he pushed himself too far. Collapsing wasn't a good thing, even in boast.

Figuring she had nothing to worry about in light of this, Rangiku continued to throw the ball down the hall. This wasn't battle where Ichigo needed to push himself. It was play. It was meant to be fun. Dog's mind or not, Ichigo probably wouldn't push himself to the breaking point while playing a game.

Since she had tired him out before, Rangiku knew Ichigo wasn't going to keep up this pace all night.

Running on a treadmill was different anyway. People used it in an upright position. Ichigo was on his hands and knees. He was using a different set of muscles. Rangiku knew for most people it was easier to run on two legs for a half hour than it was to crawl on their hands and knees for the same amount of time.

Kira himself was getting winded by doing this. He was too tired to chase after the ball and sat on the ground, panting. Ichigo kept at it, thankful he had someone to play with. After a few more throws, Ichigo was starting to slow down. He still wanted to play, but his arms and legs were feeling weak. Rangiku threw the ball and this time Ichigo watched it bounce off the wall and roll back towards him. He sat where he was and watched it. He moved to fetch it only when it stopped rolling. He put it in his mouth, chewed it a couple of times, then dropped it on the floor, bored.

Rangiku was pleased to see this.

Then she thought it wasn't enough. After a breather here, they would be full of energy again. She had to work them harder in order to make sure they were exhausted the next day. If they rested now, they would still have energy tomorrow. She had to keep them moving until sunrise when everyone came back to the building to work. Sure, this meant she would be up all night, too, but she could sleep all day tomorrow, just like them.

After letting him catch his breath, Rangiku stroked Ichigo's back, trying to rile him up. "Come on, Ichigo. Let's play some games. Come on."

This time when she threw the ball he did not go after it. Instead of fetch, she tried to get him to follow her. She stood up and walked away from him. Unwilling to be left behind, Ichigo crawled after her.

"Good boy," she told him.

She jogged down the hall and he chased after her. She changed directions and Ichigo did the same, trailing behind but never too far away.

They did this several times until Rangiku realized that Ichigo was the only one following her.

"Where's Kira?" Rangiku looked around. "Kira?"

There was no sign of him. Rangiku took Ichigo down the hall, searching. She called several times but she never got a whimper or a whine in response. Not even a bark. She kept calling, panic setting in. She thought keeping them in the same hall was a good idea and it was. Her mistake was having Ichigo follow after her as she moved from one hallway to the next, never noticing if Kira was there or not. He must have taken off.

"Kira? Answer me, Kira!"

Sensing her distress, Ichigo whined and nudged her leg with his head.

"Can you track Kira, Ichigo? Go find him!"

He cocked his head to the side.

"Fetch Kira!"

His head remained tilted. He didn't understand what she wanted him to do. Either that or he had no idea where Kira was either.

"Help me find him. Come on." Rangiku took off down the hall and Ichigo followed.

She kept calling for Kira but he never answered. She checked back in the office but he hadn't returned there to sleep for the duration. He must have been somewhere in the building. After checking this floor, she went downstairs to the next and called his name as she went up and down the different hallways. She checked the doors, making sure none of them were unlocked. Those that were she poked her head inside of to see if he was in the room. No sign of him. She closed the door and moved on to the next but he wasn't there either, or the next one. She checked everywhere.

"Kira!" She whistled but he didn't come. She clapped her hands but he didn't come then either. "Kira!"

She reached the end of the hall and saw the door leading outside opened slightly.

"Oh, don't tell me…"

She hurried outside with Ichigo in tow. She looked around but had no idea which way Kira would have gone. She called his name quietly, hoping no one would hear her and come to assist. They would catch sight of Ichigo. She moved quickly, looking in bushes, behind trees and around corners. She whistled but no one came. She kept searching.

Meanwhile, Ichigo was having fun exploring his new surroundings. He sniffed the flowers and stuck his nose in bushes and put a twig in his mouth. He climbed over a bush and started to romp around the courtyard. Rangiku never noticed him wander off.

"Kira!" she called a little louder. "Come here, now. Kira."

She moved further away from the building. She had only turned her back for a minute. He couldn't have gotten that far.

Finally, she heard something. She stopped and looked around. She heard a soft whimper. She moved closer. That's when she found Kira hiding under a bench in the yard, curled up.

She bent down to get closer to him. "Kira, what are you doing under there?"

He gave her a puppy-eyed gaze. He seemed nervous, as if he knew she would be upset with him for wandering off.

She smiled to reassure him everything was alright. "It's ok," she told him gently. "I'm not mad at you. You can come out now. Come here."

He glanced around and inched his way closer to her.

"Come on."

He crawled out from under the bench.

"That's a good boy." She gave him a pat on the head. "Good boy, Kira."

She looked around for Ichigo, only to learn that he, too, had wandered off.

"Oh, come on."

As she started to get up, Kira looked to the side and quickly hid under the bench again. Before she could coax his out again, she noticed three men walking down the street in front of her. Kira was right to hide. Rangiku quickly stood up, hoping no one would notice Kira under the bench.

The men were stumbling around and laughing. Rangiku knew at once that they were drunk. One had to be supported by the other two, he could barely walk. As he stumbled again and his buddies had to pick him up, one of them looked into the yard and spotted Rangiku. He waved excitedly to her.

She recognized him as the man who had grabbed her before. She already found him disgusting but seeing him drunk made him even more unappealing to her. Every drunk was different and most she could tolerate, but mostly because she was usually drunk herself when she met them. Sober and knowing how the man was normally, Rangiku found herself cringing when he got closer to her. He staggered across the yard, still waving his hand, as if to make sure she saw him.

"Hey, Lieutenant Honey," he slurred.

She glared at him. "Come to make a bigger fool of yourself?"

"Sorry about before, I just had to be sure they were real, right?"

She folded her arms, unimpressed.

"What? The way you are norm'ly, I'da thought you'd want some o' that. 'Sides, you got 'em laid out like a pair o' eggs on a plate. What's a guy to do?"

She turned away. "Have a little respect for a Lieutenant. To suggest that I'm easy…"

"I ain't suggestin' nothin'. I'm sayin'." He paused a moment, covering his mouth to keep from heaving. Clearly, he had too much. He inhaled deeply through his nose to compose himself. "They're like eggs on a plate, you know, right? What's a guy to do?"

"You said that already."

"I did?"

Rangiku pointed. "Go back to your buddies and sleep it off. You're wasted."

"Just guys havin' fun. 'Sides, you'd be more fun to sleep with, you know? You got two good pillows right there." He pointed to her chest.

"I am not interested."

"Aw, come on. I bet… I bet you wouldn't be so uptight if you had a few in you. Party-pooper." He stumbled but Rangiku didn't bother to catch him. He recovered before he could fall and repeated the exact statement again. "You should come drinking with us. It'd be fun."

"Not with you," she said. "I have my own drinking buddies and they don't get all handsy when they're wasted."

"You mean like this?" The man reached for her chest and she easily dodged. "What's wrong? I thought you liked men."

"I do, but- Hey!" Rangiku slapped his hand away. "Don't do that!"

He grabbed her wrist. "Don't do what?"

"You're drunk. Go home and don't touch me."

That only got him agitated. "Drunk or not, I know you got a good body, so why not show it to me? Captain Shorty doesn't have to know."

"No!" She pulled but he was holder her wrist so tightly. "Let go."

"Why? We can have some fun. It's a party. Just you and- Ow!"

Rangiku looked down. Kira had come from under the bench and chomped down on the man's wrist; the same wrist holding Rangiku's.

The man let go and pulled away. "What the hell?"

Kira was still on two legs, but only because Rangiku had grabbed him. He growled at the man, showing his teeth.

"What?"

Kira snarled, glaring at him. He even moved in front of Rangiku, protecting her.

He kept growling until the man finally backed off. "Fine, whatever. 'S your prob'm." He man turned and staggered away back to his friends. Kira didn't stop glaring until all three of them were out of sight.

"Kira…"

Kira dropped back down onto all fours and looked up at her with big blue eyes.

He was so timid, and yet…

Rangiku smiled. "Thank you, Kira." She patted him on the head. "Good boy."

Rangiku's smile started to fade, realizing her mistake.

Despite how Kira typically was, timid and shy and a bit fearful, he had bravery in him. He was a strong fighter. She could always rely on him in battle. In battle or in everyday life, she could always depend on him to protect her. No matter how scared he was, he would always be there for his friends.

And she wanted to change that.

And she wanted to change that?

How foolish. How petty.

Despite Kira's imperfections, he had plenty of good qualities to him. Everyone had their faults. Everyone had shortcomings. She openly criticized him for his, as well as many other people. She was being honest, but she had to learn to filter what she said and how. She probably would never change, but this was who she was. The same way the people she criticized were the way they were.

She had a habit of pointing out people's faults and complaining openly, but now she had taken it a step further. She had actually tried to change someone. All for what, a silly game?

Only now was the reality sinking in. Now, after seeing Kira step in front of her to protect her from harm despite the danger and his own fears, she realized Kira's imperfections weren't a problem. All of Kira's faults and excellence made him who he was, just like everyone.

She had tried to change who Kira was.

At last, she realized this mistake.

Rangiku bent down and cupped Kira's face in her hands. "Oh, Kira, I'm so, so sorry. I never should have tried to change you. I hope you can forgive me. I wouldn't want anyone to do this to me and I…" She sighed. "All for a silly game. If I can accept you in battle and you as a friend, I should be able to do it for something like this. You're brave when it counts the most, Kira. You're my friend and you're there for me. I'm sorry I didn't realize it sooner. I shouldn't have done this to you. I'm sorry."

Kira blinked but didn't say anything. He didn't even bark.

Rangiku smiled. "Come on. Let's find Ichigo and go back to the office."

She let him go, but Kira moved closer to her. He licked her hand. When Rangiku looked at his face, he was smiling at her. Rangiku smiled back.

They retraced their steps until they found Ichigo tearing up the yard with his bare hands. "Ichigo!" Rangiku cried when she saw what he had done.

Ichigo paused, his hands and face covered in dirt and tilted his head.

* * *

The next morning, as people started to arrive for work, they stopped and stared at the yard near one of the side entrances. Hitsugaya was just arriving himself but he couldn't see what everyone was looking at because of the crowd. When they saw their Captain arrive, the stepped aside for him to take a better look.

His jaw dropped when he saw the numerous holes in the yard, some shallow, some deep. One was enormous. In the center of the yard was a hole about a yard in circumference and depth. A pair of groves and a trail of hand prints led from the hole, past an unearthed shrub, across the stone pathway and towards the building.

"Matsumoto!"

* * *

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	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9:**

A fresh load of paperwork was waiting for Rangiku the following morning. She agreed to stay in the room and complete it while she looked after Ichigo and Kira. After being reprimanded by her Captain about the yard, she had no desire to leave and risk running into him. It wasn't just the yard. Ichigo had dragged a trail of dirt through the hallways and into the office. Rangiku cleaned up most of it, but realized that Ichigo was still covered and making a bigger mess while she cleaned. On the plus side, his running around made it harder to tell where the tracks led in the building. Rangiku cleaned up Ichigo, but she was just getting to the office when Hitsugaya showed up. Even after showing him the broom in her hand, he still yelled at her to clean it up.

After making sure Rangiku had everything she needed, he was off to complete the work she was meant to do that day. He had a total of three meetings to go to. It was a welcomed change from doing paperwork at his desk all day, but a part of him still didn't trust Rangiku to do it for him.

Since Ichigo and Kira were napping on the couch and Rangiku was at her desk going through the paperwork, Hitsugaya felt now was possibly the only time he could leave. He prayed a disaster wasn't waiting for him when he got back with their lunch.

As he closed the door and went down the hall, he kept expecting to hear glass shattering or dogs barking. Everything was quiet, even when he reached the stairs. He kept listening, pausing on the top step. When nothing happened, he went on his way.

He was so busy thinking of all the things Rangiku could be doing wrong at this moment that he barely noticed Renji walking beside him. He didn't even hear his question.

"Captain Hitsugaya?"

"Huh?"

"I asked what you were doing here."

Hitsugaya realized he had already arrived at the meeting place. Some of the other Lieutenants were giving him questioning looks.

"Oh. Um." He cleared his throat. "Rangiku has too much work to do so I couldn't let her leave the office until it was done. It's been piling up and I can't stand it anymore. If she hopes to have other privileges and keep prior commitments, she will remain there undisturbed and complete it. I've agreed to do all her other duties and attend all her meetings in her place. Just for today while she catches up."

That answer seemed to satisfy them.

"Finally putting your foot down, eh, Captain? Well, good for you."

"Is that why Rangiku never met us for drinks last night?" asked Hisagi. "She didn't give me a clear answer but she had invited me to go drinking with her and a couple others yesterday when I ran into her in the shopping area."

Hitsugaya clenched his fists. "So that's where she was when I needed her back to help me out. I knew it."

"She's still good for the game tomorrow, right?" asked Renji. "We need her to play."

"As long as she is undisturbed today, I will allow it." Hitsugaya hoped by saying this no one would go into the office and discover their secret. Considering how much this game meant to a lot of them, he doubted anyone, including Renji, would risk it.

"This is great," said Momo. "Having a meeting with you here will be fun, Little Shiro."

Hitsugaya's eye twitched. "Captain. Captain Hitsugaya, please Momo."

"Right. Sorry, Little Shiro."

His shoulders slumped.

"Alright, then. Shall we start the meeting?"

* * *

Rangiku was right to tire out Ichigo and Kira last night. After breakfast, all they wanted to do was sleep. After making sure the door was locked, she decided to join them. While the two of them took up one of the couches, she had the other all to herself.

She stretched out, ready for a good long nap. Staying in the office to take care of them was going to be a piece of cake.

KNOCK, KNOCK.

"Rangiku?"

Her eyes flew open.

"Captain Hitsugaya? Are you in there?" The person knocked again.

Ichigo's head shot up and he looked at the door. "Bark! Bark!"

Rangiku jumped over the coffee table to cover his mouth with her hand. "Shh!" Just like a good guard dog, he barked when he heard someone at the door.

"Hello?" The door rattled as the person tried to get in.

"Just a minute!" Rangiku called. She started to back away from Ichigo to answer the door but if she took her hand away, he would only bark again.

To distract him, Rangiku picked up a cookie from her desk with her other hand. Ichigo stopped struggling and looked at it. Rangiku took her hand away from his mouth and Ichigo didn't bark. She gave him the cookie which he ate quickly.

Rangiku started to back away towards the door but Ichigo wanted to follow her. She held up her hand. "Stay," she said firmly and Ichigo didn't move. "Stay."

She made her way over to the door and unlocked it. She opened it slightly, making sure the person in the hall couldn't see inside the room. "Y- yes?"

Rukia gave Rangiku a puzzled look. "What's going on in there?"

"Nothing."

Rukia tried to see inside but she couldn't. "I thought I heard a dog bark. Do you have a dog in there?"

"No, that was me," Rangiku lied. "I was coughing. Yes, coughing. You caught me in the middle of snacking. Crumbs. Heh heh…"

"Oh. Sorry." Rukia didn't bother to question her further. Instead, she asked what she wanted to ask her in the first place. "Have you seen Ichigo anywhere?"

"Who?"

Rukia raised her brow suspiciously. "Ichigo Kurosaki. The guy with the hair and the temper."

"Oh, him! Sorry, I misheard you. No, I haven't seen him."

Rukia looked very annoyed. "I turned my back yesterday and now I can't find him. I've been looking everywhere. Captain Ukitake hasn't been feeling well, so we had to wait to see him. He's still not in his office, but it sounds like he will be later in the day, so I was trying to find Ichigo to tell him but I can't find him anywhere."

"Well, good luck searching. He's not around here, I can tell you that much."

Rukia sighed. "And to think, I ducked out of a meeting early to find him. When I find him, I'm going to kick his ass."

Rangiku nodded her head as if she were listening.

"Are you going to the..? No, probably not. You weren't at the Lieutenant meeting. I heard you had a lot of work and you're not allowed to leave the office."

"That's right. If I expect any privileges, I have to get back to work before Captain Hitsugaya shows up. If you'll excuse me…" Rangiku started to close the door.

"Oh, right. Sorry. Thanks for your time." Rukia went down the hall and Rangiku locked the door.

"That was close." Rangiku looked back at the couch where Ichigo was still sitting frozen. Rangiku started to praise him. "Good boy, good boy." She stroked his head and Ichigo tried to lick her face.

* * *

When the meeting concluded, Hitsugaya left feeling lightheaded. A Lieutenants' meeting was a lot more involved than he thought. He knew they had important jobs and their own work, but he didn't realize how much until now. His mind felt numb.

He shook it off and started on his way to the next meeting immediately following this one. The Women's Association meeting was probably going to be even more mind-numbing than this but for different reasons. He was expecting nonsensical chatter over trays of sweets. He honestly didn't take their meetings seriously and viewed them as nothing more than social gatherings.

He learned quickly, however, that this wasn't the case.

He followed some women he knew were part of the group to where he assumed would be the meeting place which was often held in Byakuya's house. Instead, they took him to a different building. The meeting was held in an empty office which Squad members often used for small meetings. Several rooms such as these were available but they tended to use the same ones over and over again. It was rare for every meeting room to be occupied at the same time.

The first thing he noticed when he walked in was the snack table. Sure enough, there were plenty of sweets. Some were arriving with more snacks which they set down on the table against the wall. Unohana was brewing tea for everyone at the same table. Everyone who entered greeted her first. The women broke off into small groups of two or three to have conversations and share jokes. Hitsugaya assumed this would be the duration of the meeting.

Once everyone arrived, Unohana told everyone to gather around so the meeting could begin. They brought the snacks from the table and laid them out on the floor where the women gathered around in a circle and sat on patted mats. They passed different dishes around but most of the snacks remained where they were and the women leaned forward to take what they wanted.

It was almost lunchtime so Hitsugaya was feeling pretty hungry. He helped himself to a couple of things and sat on a purple cushion. He was relieved not too many women were calling attention to him being there.

The first thing Unohana asked everyone was how they were doing. Hitsugaya assumed this was the beginning of the social interaction that would be the meeting. He soon found out that it was just the opening. They were breaking the ice and getting everyone to feel comfortable so they could speak openly when it came time for them to throw out ideas.

Unohana had an agenda which actually surprised Hitsugaya. He thought the women would just call out random ideas and the most popular one would be the topic for conversation.

"Have you heard about the Lieutenants having their own game day event tomorrow?" asked one of the women.

Unohana nodded. "I think it's wonderful. Things can be so stressful around here. I'm glad they're having fun."

"We should hold a game day event for Squad members," suggested Momo. "I think it would be fun. We'll see how this one goes and we can plan out a whole game day experience for everybody. Like a festival."

"That does sound fun. What sort of games are they doing and what should we do for our game day?"

The women started throwing out ideas and a lot of them were pretty good. Hitsugaya didn't bother to make suggestions. He liked hearing them more than making them.

After they were finished with that, they moved on to a new topic. They started to talk about the magazine they had published not too long ago. It had been a while since they made another, but they needed everyone's participation in order to move forward. Hisagi was one of the editors and after his column was deemed silly and boring, he had sulked in the editor's room for days and wouldn't come out. Making a new edition would take time and a lot of work, but as long as they met with other departments, they were confident that they would see another magazine within the next month.

The next topic involved Ukitake. The women had arranged a giftbasket for him and were prepared to give it to him at his house today. Hitsugaya wasn't aware that they had done this and thought it was a nice gesture.

As it turned out, not all of the snacks were for their consumption. Some were set aside to be given to Ukitake as a gift. Unohana had done some flower arranging and placed the finished piece in the wicker basket they were taking to him. Other women stepped forward to hand in their finished works. Momo had drawn Ukitake a get-well card and wanted everyone to sign their names to it. As that was passed around, Rukia put a Chappy keychain into the basket along with her own handmade card.

Hitsugaya felt bad that he hadn't made anything to give Ukitake. It looked like he was the only one who didn't have something to offer.

He was about to say something about it when one of the women pointed out that Rangiku had already turned in something. He thought it was something she had suckered someone else to make for her so she could pass it off as her own gift or simply say it was made by someone else but she was the one giving it as a gift. Basically, she would either take credit for the gift or re-gift a gift to her.

He was surprised to learn that Rangiku had surrendered one of her sake bottles in addition to making him a gift by hand. She had tried her hand at crocheting and made him a flower made out of colorful fabric. It wasn't perfect, but everyone could tell it was a flower.

Was that what she was doing instead of work? He knew she goofed around a lot, but was she also taking care of other people when she wasn't in the office? It must have been a mixture of the two.

Once the giftbasket was complete, Unohana wrapped it up and set it aside so they could continue with the meeting. They would walk it over to Ukitake's once the meeting had concluded.

The subjects that followed left Hitsugaya surprised and a bit overwhelmed. He knew that the Women's Association was responsible for several things that went on in the Seireitei, such as the naming of Soul Candies, but he didn't realize how much they actually did. They helped keep up the maintenance of the place, making sure things weren't just good-looking but also functional. They maintained the gardens and saw to landscaping projects. They designed different outfits for certain events, they came up with social events that helped take the pressure off so many Soul Reapers. This was a stressful job, after all. They even submitted different projects to the 12th Division that would help make their lives easier.

He didn't realize how much they did until just now. And to think, Rangiku was a part of it. This wasn't just a social meeting. This was so much more. Sure, they came up with leisurely activities and events to help take the pressure off the people who lived and worked here, but that was also important. Hitsugaya may have been a workaholic, but he liked to be social. He wanted to relax.

"If I may," said Nanao, "going back to the magazine topic, I believe Rangiku was the photographer on that project, wasn't she?"

"Yes, she was."

"She's also the photographer for many other projects we've done, such as the calendar."

"Yes. And?"

"Well, I'm afraid the next topic on the agenda will have to be postponed because Rangiku isn't here. While it's very considerate of Captain Hitsugaya to stand in for her, I'm afraid we really must have her input on this next part. We don't know if she's done any more on the subject in question or what she has already completed. We have no finished product and no one we can ask a direct question to."

"That's true," said Unohana. "It seems we'll have to wait until she is at the next meeting to go over all that. Unless Captain Hitsugaya is aware of her projects."

Hitsugaya's head picked up. "Projects?"

"Yes. Rangiku is our chief photographer. Any pictures we need, we receive from her." Unohana smiled. "She also runs a column in the magazine. We rely on her to finish the article before we can publish anything. Without it, we don't have a completed magazine. She also has a lot of great social ideas for recreational activities. She suggested a spa day for all female Soul Reapers."

Hitsugaya resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Of course, she would."

"Given the fact that the men have their own dojo to work in and the fact that there is that bar in the shopping district that caters exclusively to men, Rangiku thought it only fair to have something for just women, especially when it comes to relaxation. Female Soul Reapers get stressed, too, but are often overlooked in terms of needs."

"That's right," said Nanao. "You think a woman wants to go to local spa to relax only to hear men comment on their bodies or go on and on about how a woman is going to touch them? Men can be so rowdy. She thought it would be nice if there was a day or a place that caters to women only so they don't have to put up with loud men shouting and catcalling when all the women want to do is relax and have things quiet."

"Rangiku may like attention from men, but even she has her limits," said Rukia.

"I also think it would be nice for a place like that for Rangiku's sake," said another. "She worries so much about her looks. She wants to look young and beautiful. Not just because she's self-conscious, but also for men. She wants them to see her as beautiful."

"That is why women tend to worry about their looks," said Nemu. "Among other women, it is fine. The main goal is to impress men. If men don't think they are appealing, a woman's self-worth goes down."

"I hear that."

"I'm self-conscious about my height. I wonder if men are intimidated by that. Women are supposed to be shorter than men, right?"

"It's all about appeal," said Nemu. "After all, if men do not find women appealing, their chances of finding someone to mate with goes way down and women do have a biological clock, as you know."

"Nemu!"

"What? The main purpose of attracting a male is to procreate. Animals and humans are no different. It's to conserve the population and make sure certain genes are carried on."

"We don't have to talk about that!"

Several women were turning red and tried to stop Nemu from educating them on the subject.

Hitsugaya wasn't too embarrassed, but mostly because he was tuning them out in order to concentrate on Rangiku.

These women valued her and she contributed something to the group. She worked hard for them. The things she was passionate about, she gave her all. She didn't want to let people down. At the same time, she also wanted to take care of herself. She knew what she would like to do to relax and, as it turned out, a lot of other women felt the same way. Some weren't as verbal about it as she was, being more reserved. It wasn't just about having fun. It was about staying healthy. There was a lot of stress with a job like this, but there was stress in life, too. There had to be balance. They had to find a way to get rid of stress and that was one thing Rangiku was good at. She knew how to have fun.

Nobody liked to work. Well, some did, but not to the point of making themselves sick. Hitsugaya always thought Rangiku just wanted to avoid work because she, like most people, didn't enjoy it. Now he was reconsidering this.

Could it be that the reason she didn't want to go back to the office to do paperwork wasn't just because she was lazy, but because she did a lot of work other places? After putting in so much effort with these events, care packages, magazines, product suggestions and naming, and maintaining who knew what else, why would she want to go back to the office to do more work?

Hitsugaya was just sitting in for her, but he saw how much work these women did. Not just during the meetings but outside of them, too.

As a matter of fact, after they were finished with the verbal part of their meeting, they moved on to other business.

Inspired by the upcoming Lieutenant games, the women decided to do something fun and helpful. They were going to cook together, making snacks for the games tomorrow and keeping any leftovers for themselves to snack on later.

Hitsugaya was informed that the women usually did cooking projects for different events. Sometimes to give to those who weren't feeling well, and sometimes because of a holiday. They prepared chocolate dishes for Valentine's day and cookies for Christmas. It was fun. Kneading the dough helped them relieved stress and the finished work tasted pretty good, too. They had fun designing different cookies. Yachiru usually ate all of hers before the end of the meeting and would ask to try some of the other women's as well.

The girls were all too happy to show Hitsugaya how to bake cookies with them. He questioned the health benefits of preparing cookies for the Lieutenants' game day, considering how a lot of it would involve them running around. Unohana said that the sugar would help boost their energy and that the cookies were meant to enhance the fun. She also informed him that fresh fruit would also be provided alongside the cookies.

He didn't see the value in doing this. Sure, it was a fun thing to do, but while they were busy making cookies, there was important paperwork to be done. Did they really want to waste their time doing this? Besides, there was a local bakery in the shopping district. They could always buy cookies rather than make them.

He along with Unohana and Soi Fon removed their Captains jackets and rolled up their sleeves. They were each given a job to do. Hitsugaya and several others began to knead the dough. Considering the table was chest-high to him, it was difficult for him to knead properly. Someone offered him a box to stand on which only irritated him. He knelt on a chair instead, telling anyone who took notice with a teasing smile that his legs were tired and it had nothing to do with the added height.

This was actually pretty hard. His arms were already getting sore. His wrists were aching by the time he was finished, making him doubt he could do any paperwork that day. While he rested, another team began to roll out the dough. Everyone chipped in when it came time to shape the cookies, grabbing cookie cutters or molding them by hand. Hitsugaya used a diamond shaped cutter and got to work, making sure to cut out shapes as close to other holes as possible so he didn't waste any space and got the most use out of his sheet of dough.

He looked over to see what the others were doing. Some were making uniform holes just as he was. Others cut out shapes wherever they pleased. Some were even using more than one cookie cutter to make a variety of designs and shapes. Yachiru had a cookie cutter in each hand, slamming them down wherever she pleased, even overlapping other pieces she had already cut out. As long as she was occupied, she wasn't much of a bother.

Rukia was shaping her cookies by hand, forming each one into a poorly constructed rabbit shape. She seemed pleased with her work, but she looked very focused, frowning in concentration.

When Hitsugaya looked to his right, he saw Soi Fon shaping her own cookies by hand. He raised his brow when he saw that every one of them was in the shape of a cat. Their sculpting was far better than Rukia's, but the numbers were also smaller. Soi Fon was taking great care with each and every cookie she made, making sure they were perfect in size, shape and design. He moved one step to the side when he caught her blushing as she sculpted her newest feline creation. It was odd, seeing that look on her face.

Unohana told everyone to place their finished work on a tray and follow her outside where an outdoor oven was waiting for them. After the cookies were in the oven, they started to construct little baskets and bags for the finished product, cutting ribbons and weaving designs into the paper baskets by hand.

It was like arts and crafts. Though it wasn't Hitsugaya's forte, he gave it his all, never slacking for a moment. The basket he made didn't look as pretty as the others, but he was fine with that. He didn't care how good it looked as long as it functioned. It was pretty fragile, as it turned out. He tried placing a roll of tape in his paper basket and it fell through the bottom, meaning he had to either start again or patch it. Momo saw him struggling and offered to help him out. It was pretty fun to work with Momo.

The cookies were brought back inside and set to cool while they worked on making frosting. This was also pretty fun, but it followed a recipe so it was more precise than the basket he had to make.

Then the moment everyone was most excited about: frosting the cookies. Everyone decorated their own cookies with different colored frosting and sprinkles. Some kept their cookies neat, frosting slowly and deliberately, while others globed on the color. Yachiru piled her cookies high with all the frosting they could hold, then ate them as soon as they were finished, never putting any in her decorative bag.

Momo came over to look at his and remarked how boring they were. He had only frosted the surface by smearing the frosting around with a small knife. To satisfy her, he piped a ring around the edge of each cookie in a different color.

"Happy?" he asked her.

When he looked at hers, she had a different design on each one. Some even had friends' names on them. He was pleased to see that none of her cookies were in the shape of a pair of glasses.

Since everyone was still working, he went back to decorating his own cookies. At first, it was absentminded doodling. Now he was having fun frosting a snowflake design on his sweets.

That's when he realized that he was actually having fun doing this.

They gathered up their finished cookies into decorative bags and placed them in their handmade paper baskets. Any leftover cookies or cookies that people wanted to offer to others as a gift or set aside for tomorrow's games were placed on round platters and wrapped in the same material used to construct the bags. They tied them off with a ribbon and Unohana said she would deliver them tomorrow when the games start as a nice treat.

After that was taken care of, all the women, except Yachiru who had run off after her cookies were eaten, chipped in to help clean up the room which was covered in flour, frosting and ribbon. Hitsugaya helped clean off the tables and mop up the floor. Once everything was back in its place, Unohana announced that their meeting had concluded and were free to go.

Several women left to go back to their duties, but some stayed to help deliver the giftbasket to Ukitake. Hitsugaya opted to go with them, feeling a sense of duty come over him. To him, delivering the giftbasket to Ukitake was part of his job since he was filling in for Rangiku and he wanted to see it through.

He followed them to Ukitake's and delivered the basket to him in person. He invited them in and offered them tea, saying he enjoyed their company. Rukia asked if he was feeling any better and he said he was. In fact, he planned to return to his office either that evening or the next morning. Unohana told him not to push himself. If he didn't feel up to it tonight, he could come in to work tomorrow.

After a brief visit, Hitsugaya left to continue on his way. It should have been lunchtime by now. Hitsugaya entered one of the buildings to find a clock. When he learned it was almost 2:00 in the afternoon, he gasped. He hadn't realized so much time had passed. It wasn't even noon when the second meeting started. He quickly got his own lunch, ate it, then grabbed something for Rangiku and the other two in his office and took off.

He had to admit that he had fun standing in for Rangiku for the second meeting. He had his doubts, but he actually enjoyed himself. He also came to realize how much work they actually did. Even for something as fun as making cookies turned out to be a lot of work. His arms were still a bit sore and he wanted to take a break.

He stopped for a moment, realizing what just happened.

He wanted a break. A break after the Women's Association meeting. A meeting where he thought women got together to have fun and chat. No real work went on there. Any work that was done was simple. Talking and planning future events didn't cause people to break a sweat. It wasn't filing out paperwork all day which would result in headaches.

All this time, he had been telling Rangiku that attending those meetings were her break. That she was being lazy. That those meetings didn't warrant a break from her because they weren't taxing.

Here he was with sore arms and wanting a break. Time to relax after that meeting.

While it was fun, it also involved work. Something he hadn't realized until now.

He knew they didn't make cookies at every meeting, but he saw what went on there. He heard the things they did and what they were planning to do. Things that would take time and effort, participation from all.

He owed her an apology. Their meetings didn't involve swordplay, but his muscles were begging for a rest.

* * *

When he arrived at his office, unlocking the door, his desire to apologize to Rangiku went out the window. He found her sleeping on the couch.

Sleeping. Sleeping instead of doing the paperwork, as they had arranged.

"Matsumoto!"

"Ahh!" Rangiku sat straight up and spun around. "Captain, when did you get here?"

He dropped the cookies and the food he had brought back for them on the coffee table. "Dare I ask about the paperwork?"

Her eyes darted to the side. "I was just about to-"

"We had agreed that you would watch them and do all the paperwork while I go to these meetings in your place and do all the other work for you that involves leaving the office. We had an arrangement."

"And I was just about to do it. I'm sorry, Captain, but I was up all night with those two. I just wanted to rest my eyes for a little while."

He clenched his fists but didn't yell. Perhaps it was all the stress he had worked out kneading that dough that made him more merciful. Maybe it was the fact that he was all set to apologize to her for assuming her meetings were nothing but fun when in fact they involved hard work. He wasn't sure, but he found that it would have been a waste of time to yell at her.

"Just please have something done by the time I get back. I have a couple of hours before your next meeting and there's something I want to do before then."

"Ok, Captain. I'll get to work on it right now. See?" Rangiku sat at her desk and started to sort through papers. "See?"

"Actually work, please. Don't just move stuff around to make it look like you've been working."

"I'm on it."

Hitsugaya started to leave the office. Before he closed the door, he gave Rangiku a long look, making sure she would actually work. After making sure she wasn't just moving the pen around, he closed the door and went on his way.

* * *

Please review!


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10:**

Akon wasn't answering the door when he knocked. Another technician informed him that he was working on something important and wasn't to be disturbed. Hoping this meant he was working on the cure, Hitsuagya left without demanding to see him.

He returned to his office and found Rangiku was still working on paperwork. He was so pleased, he almost smiled. She told him that before her nap, she really had been doing some paperwork. She handed him what she had already completed and told him that she was still working on everything else.

Pleased at her accomplishments, Hitsugaya thanked her and told her to keep it up. Since she was busy here, it was his responsibility to deliver these files to the appropriate locations. He waited until she finished another file then took it and left the office, promising to be back for more soon.

This meant Rangiku could not slack off for even a minute. She worked on the paperwork, groaning about how he could do all this and not want to bang his head against the wall. It was so tedious.

Kira gave her a puppy-eyed expression, as if knowing what she was going through, and put his head back down.

* * *

Ever since he became a Captain, Hitsugaya never really had to deliver papers anymore. Though he was out of practice, he tried his best to get it done and get it done well. It didn't matter how many years it had been, he knew what to do.

After a half-hour, he found himself panting. He was used to combat training, running into battle and sword fighting, but this different. Both were tiring, but for some reason he didn't find himself feeling so winded in battle. Running from building to building with a stack of papers in his arms was very tiring. In fact, his body still hadn't recovered from the activities he had been doing earlier that day, particularly the Women's Association meeting. His arms and back were still sore.

He delivered the last file then raced back to his office to get the rest. Rangiku hadn't made her way through the pile yet, but she did have a fresh stack of finished work for him to take.

At this rate, running back and forth to get more files was going to result in him collapsing. He would have offered to stay behind to help her complete it, but his next meeting was coming up and he had to go. Besides, knowing him, he wouldn't leave his desk until it was done. Even if he told himself he would only work for ten minutes, someone would have to come and pry him away after being there for two hours. That was just how he was. He didn't like leaving until it was finished.

He had to restrain himself until the third and last meeting was over. Then he could stay at the office to help her finish the rest of it. The two of them would get it done quickly.

He grabbed the next files and bolted out of there. He only had a half-hour to finish up and get to his next meeting. He moved as quickly as he could, flash-stepping to get places faster. This worked for a while, then he found himself stumbling. He couldn't keep using flash-step if he was already feeling tired. It was only a matter of time until he tripped and fell off a roof. He also had to make sure he didn't go too fast or the papers would fly everywhere. He had a good hold on them for now, but he didn't want to risk it.

He successfully delivered most of the files. He was about to deliver another when he realized he was delivering it to the wrong place and quickly changed directions. He couldn't afford too many more mistakes like that. It would result in him using more time than he had.

"Captain!"

He halted. "Y- yes?"

"Sorry to bother you," said a female from his Squad. "I heard that Lieutenant Matsumoto wouldn't be meeting with us today because of her workload."

"That's right," he said, adjusting the files in his arms. "I'm filling in for her. I'll be there shortly to meet with you."

"Oh, good. Thank you, Captain."

He had to hurry. He rushed to deliver the last of the files and then quickly rushed to his Division to begin the meeting. When he showed up, he was fighting to catch his breath. Maybe he was taking on more than he could handle. No, that was ridiculous. He was a Captain, for crying out loud. He saw battle, he tackled a mountain-size workload everyday. This was nothing.

In truth, he was trying to convince himself. The reality was that he had been doing a lot in one day and had agreed to do more. Captain or not, anyone would be exhausted.

He hoped this meeting would allow him time to get off his feet and rest a little.

As soon as he arrived, the members of his Squad were waiting for him. Only a dozen had gathered, most of them women.

"Afternoon, Captain Hitsugaya," they greeted him with bows.

"Afternoon." Hitsugaya went right over to a chair and sat down. When he looked up at all the faces staring back at him, he realized that he didn't know what he was supposed to do. He had never asked Rangiku what she did when she met with the Squad members. What sort of meeting was this supposed to be?

Thankfully, someone stepped forward to fill him in.

"Usually, we start by telling Lieutenant Matsumoto all the things that are working and those that are not. Issues and things that need to be done."

"Alright." Then it dawned on him that issues such as these were usually brought to his attention directly. Why was there a meeting for it? If something was going on in their Squad, they came to him. "Such as..?"

The girl reported that all the files from the department had been delivered to his office that morning and nothing arrived late. He was also informed of a mess in one of the offices but they had cleaned it up themselves so there was no issue. These were all very minor things, so Hitsugaya wasn't sure why there was a meeting for them.

"Without Lieutenant Matsumoto here, will you be helping us run drills?" asked a male Soul Reaper.

"Drills?"

"Rangiku- I mean, Lieutenant Matsumoto meets with us on an occasion to help us run battle drills," said a young girl. "That way, if we're called into battle, we know what to do. Where to report, the fastest way to get there. And even battle formations. That way, we're not all bumping into each other."

"She also organized a mandatory weekly session of stretches and exorcise in order to make sure we stayed in shape," said another. "I guess she worries our desk jobs will take a toll on our bodies and we won't be able to perform adequately."

"Rangiku organized this?" Hitsugaya was surprised. He knew the Squad members got together to practice every week, but he never knew who orchestrated it. He was under the assumption that they all did it themselves. "She never informed me of this."

"She did this on her own," said a woman. "She said that you were working on everything else, she didn't want to dump more on you, so this was something she could handle herself."

She was concerned about his workload? Considering how many times she left him alone in the office to do all the paperwork by himself, he had no idea this was a concern of hers.

He got through the rest of the meeting in a fog, wondering what else Rangiku was doing without his knowledge. She didn't need his consent for something like this, but it would have been nice to know. A woman pointed out that if he had known, he would have been stressed about that, too, because he would want to take on the responsibility. She was right about that. Knowing him, he would try to be involve and worry that it wasn't going perfectly. He strived for perfection, even knowing most of the time such a thing was unattainable. Even so, he would always try his best to get as close to it as possible.

Rangiku was right to keep some of these things to herself. Now that he knew about it, he wanted to stand in and watch their performance. He was the Captain; it was his responsibility. A good leader would be there for his team, even for something as simple as running drills.

At his request, they performed some of the drills Rangiku had been teaching them. He couldn't help but notice now most of the drills involved them moving away from their Captain in battle. When he questioned this, they said that according to Rangiku, since he was the Captain, he was going to be taking on very strong enemies; enemies who might have henchmen. If that was the case, then he would be the one fighting the leader and they would only get in his way. Their job would be to go after the henchmen. This way, no one would be standing around and they wouldn't have to ask their Captain for orders when he was trying to fight a strong opponent. They would know what was expected of them and how to do it.

Hitsugaya was impressed. It looked like a successful battle strategy. He would be the one to tell them to get back so they wouldn't get hurt and he would be the one to take on the really strong opponent. Not every drill involved them staying away from their Captain in battle. Some involved them staying close or staying behind him to surround an enemy. They were very organized.

He was also happy to see everyone having a nice time. It was his desire to keep up moral in his Squad and make sure there was trust among the members. All the members. He wanted it to feel like a big family. He was pleased to see that everyone was friendly with each other and got along great. He had seen this before, but it was nice to be reminded of the bonds they had with each other.

Taking advantage of this, Rangiku saw fit to organize these practice drills and exorcises in order to keep this bond strong. To make sure there was trust. She knew what Hitsugaya wanted.

While he was stuck doing paperwork, she was making sure the Squad didn't fall apart, knowing he couldn't be present as much as he wanted to be. He made sure he was always available, should they ever need him, but that usually required them to come to his office because he was so busy working.

Now he realized how rare it was for him to leave the office and watch them perform like this. He was able to do it at least four times a week, but he wanted to do it everyday and he wasn't always allowed that. It was a good thing Rangiku was there to stand in for him and ease his workload. At least, a little bit.

Before the meeting ended, a woman looked at him. "Captain, did Lieutenant Matsumoto resolve that other issue?"

"What issue?"

"With that new Squad member."

Another woman nodded, looking upset. "After what happened yesterday, I thought for sure she would have punched him in the face."

"He ran off too quickly, but I heard her yelling at him."

Hitsugaya got their attention. "What issue with the Squad member?"

"This new guy. Squad 11. He just got here this week, and… Well, he's a pit of a pig."

"Yes. He keeps catcalling the women, winking at us. Following us around. It was so uncomfortable."

"We told Rangiku about it and she said she would do something about it."

"She's aware of the situation. But…"

"Oh, you mean..?"

"Yes, that."

Hitsugaya was tired of the women knowing and him not knowing, carrying on as if he did. "What happened?" he asked them.

"The new guy was very rude to her."

"Yes, he was. We complained, and she was going to tell him off."

"That guy has no respect. He touched Lieutenant Matsumoto."

Hitsugaya frowned. "Touched her?"

"He went into her office and grabbed her chest then ran out of there laughing. I heard her yelling at him, but she didn't chase him down. She just slammed the door shut."

"I thought for sure she was going to kill him."

"A new Squad member has been doing this and I wasn't informed?" he asked them angrily. Not towards them as much as the man responsible.

"Rangiku said you had enough to worry about. Since this guy's only been harassing the women, she felt it needed to be handled by a woman."

"And he's not from our Squad. His Captain should be informed, not you."

"Besides, we were the ones who came to warn her about him, because he kept going on and on about how much he wanted to go after her. We thought we had to tip her off on the guy so she wouldn't be surprised."

"If she knew what he was planning, she could prepare for it and stop him."

Hitsugaya clenched his fists. "Well, I'm going to be the one to stop him. He can't treat a member of my Squad like that. A part of it or not. He needs to learn respect. I'm going to go have a word with him. If he does anything else to anyone, you come to me and I'll make sure he stops once and for all. He will be warned."

"Thank you, Captain."

He started to march off to find this man, then he caught sight of the clock on the wall. He needed to get more files from the office and deliver them. Which was fine, considering he'd probably run into the man responsible during his deliveries.

* * *

Rangiku rubbed her temples. "Paperwork is hard!" she whined. "How much more of these do I have to do?"

No wonder Hitsugaya was so grouchy.

The door opened and in he came. He snatched the finished files off the desk and ran off without a word. Rangiku moaned and slammed her head on a stack of papers. She hoped he had shown up to help her get through these. Apparently, getting them to their proper destination on time was more important.

* * *

Hitsugaya rushed around the Seireitei as fast as he could. Rangiku had done a good job getting through these as quickly as she had been, but there was plenty more to be done. One place after another, flash-stepping as much as possible. He had to get this done quickly, then get back to help her.

His foot missed a step and he dropped between two buildings. He reached out to catch himself before he could hit the ground. He grabbed the edge of the roof with his right hand and held onto the files in his left. The sudden drop and stop shook some papers loose and they fell to the ground. Hitsugaya dropped down to gather them up. He crouched over the files, making sure the papers were returned to their proper file. This used up a lot of his time, making him frustrated.

He sprang up from his crouched position quickly and tried to enter into a run from there. He stumbled and fell to his knees. His legs were shaking. He shouldn't have been crouching like that for so long and then shoot up like that. His legs couldn't handle it. They were already weak from running around so much. He couldn't risk using flash-step anymore. He had to give it a rest for a while so his body could rest. As much rest as it could get while he ran around like this.

His back hurt, his shoulders and arms ached. He was tired. He pushed himself to keep going.

He took a shortcut through the 11th Division.

He perked up a little when he was returning to his office and spotted the new Squad member in one of the rooms of the 11th Division by himself. His face was only visible for a second before being covered by his arms as he laid his head on the desk.

This position reminded him of coming back and finding Rangiku drunk at her desk. That coupled with the anger he already felt towards the man had him marching in and kicking the side of his desk.

"Jeez!" the man said, lifting his head. "Do you mind? I'm really hungover right now."

"You mind telling a Captain why you're hungover at work?"

The man looked up and saw Hitsugaya frowning at him. "Oh, crap." He tried to make himself look more presentable but failed miserably. "Look, I'm sorry. I was out drinking with some friends of mine last night to celebrate becoming a member of Squad 11. We got totally wasted. I don't even remember how I got back to the barracks last night."

Hitsugaya folded his arms. "So you're the new guy who's been harassing my Squad members?"

The man paused. He stuck out his lower lip, as if thinking hard about it. "Depends what you mean by harassing," he said, placing his elbows on the desk to hold up his head with his hands.

Hitsugaya kicked the desk away from him and the man fell forward onto the floor. "Do I look amused?" he asked the man on the floor. "Do I seem to be in a joking mood with you right now?"

The man climbed back into his seat. "No."

"No, Captain," Hitsugaya told him. "You are now a member of the 13 Court Guard Squads and I demand respect from all its members. Not just towards me, but towards each other."

"Got it, Captain."

"Do you?" Hitsugaya folded his arms. "I've been getting complaints from other members saying that you've been acting rude towards several of the female Squad members from my company. Including my Lieutenant."

"Rude? I wasn't rude."

"Did you grab Lieutenant Matsumoto's chest?"

The man started snickering. "Yeah." He stopped laughing when he saw the look on Hitsugaya's face. The air in the room suddenly turned cold and a chill ran down his spine. "I mean, maybe… I mean…"

"You call that respect?" he asked ominously.

"I…" The man looked away. "I just thought it'd be funny. I mean, I heard about the rack she had and when I became a member of the Squad right next to yours, I…"

"You don't ever disrespect my Lieutenant again," Hitsugaya snarled. "Or any other member of my Squad, you got me?"

"Yes."

"Yes, what?"

"Yes, Captain."

"Good." Hitsugaya moved away from him, but the cold atmosphere hung in the room. "You've just arrived, but that doesn't mean I'm going to overlook certain behaviors of yours. I don't care if we're from the same Squad or not. We need to respect and trust one another. It isn't just a reflection of the Squad or the Captain's leadership, it's also about survival. If you can't trust each other in battle, everything falls apart. You must learn this. The attitude you've been sporting so far won't cut it around here."

"I'm sorry," said the man. "I thought I was being funny. Breaking the ice. I didn't think the women had any real problems with it."

"And grabbing my Lieutenant?"

"I figured she'd be used to it, looking like she does. I didn't think she'd mind. I mean, aren't women flattered when guys do that?"

"Is that why you sneaked up behind her and ran off?"

He looked away. "Like I said, I thought it'd be funny."

"You knew what you were doing was wrong, otherwise you wouldn't have tried to hide it. Sneaking around and running off like that."

He sighed. "You're right. I'm sorry. I just wasn't sure how else to get attention around here. I'm the new guy. I don't want to be just another face or someone people can shove around."

"That behavior will get you the wrong kind of attention and if you don't change immediately, no one is going to trust you and that reputation will stick. Trust me, you won't want that." Hitsugaya had calmed down somewhat. "This is your only warning. Change the attitude or there will be repercussions."

"Got it. Sorry, Captain."

"Good. And I think you owe the women an apology. Consider that an order."

He nodded. "On it."

"Good." Hitsugaya turned and left the room. "That goes for my Lieutenant, as well. And keep your hands to yourself when you do it."

He nodded again and Hitsugaya walked towards his office.

* * *

Rangiku looked up when Hitsugaya entered. "Captain!" She gestured to all the papers on her desk. "How do you not throw it all out the window?" she cried.

He grabbed a stack off her desk and placed it on his own. "I'll help you finish it," he said. "If we each do half, we should get done in half the time."

Rangiku nodded. "Ok."

"I'll deliver it when we're finished. You can take a break while I do that, ok?"

She nodded again. "Ok."

He really didn't want to do more work, but he had to. After the day he had, he understood why Rangiku would avoid going back to the office to do paperwork.

He stretched and rubbed his shoulders, feeling his joints pop. It was good to sit down after all that running around. His body was still sore, but he could rest after the work was complete. He took large gulps from his teacup and got to work.

Rangiku looked over the shrinking pile to look at Ichigo and Kira every now and then. Kira glanced at her once or twice, then put his head back down. She smiled at him.

She hoped Kira understood what she had told him last night. She meant every word of it.

She owed Hitsugaya an apology, too. Paperwork was tedious. So boring and frustrating. It was hard doing it by herself. She wanted to avoid it because she hated it so much, but it wasn't fair to her Captain. Though, when she thought about it, since he took pride in his work, he probably did a better job of it than she did. If he hadn't shown up when he did to help her get through it, she would have start putting down anything just to get it done. It wouldn't be done correctly, but at least it would be filled out.

Doing things alone was so…

Maybe he liked the quiet. The quiet wasn't the issue. It was the work itself. Just like watching Ichigo and Kira, doing any kind of work alone was difficult. It was better to have help.

She looked to her left to tell this to Hitsugaya but stopped, seeing his head on the desk. He had collapsed on top of his paperwork, sound asleep.

It seemed the day was a little harder on him than either of them thought it would be.

Rangiku didn't have the heart to wake him up. She also didn't have the heart to sneak off. Instead, she continued to work, despite the headache. She couldn't help but think how pleased he would be when he woke up and all the work was done. Such a thrilling idea kept her going. She couldn't wait to see the look on his face. He might even reward her for all her hard work. Maybe he would let her drink in the office again or give her the rest of the day off.

She could always hope.

* * *

Two chapters left!

Please review!


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11:**

While he slept, Rangiku finished the paperwork that wasn't under her Captain's face. After seeing what doing all the paperwork by herself was like, she took pity on her Captain and felt bad for always leaving him to do it all. In a moment of sympathy, she took it upon herself to finish it as a gift to him.

She couldn't think of anyone more deserving at the moment. Not just because of all the work he already had to do, but because she dragged him into her mess in the first place. She thrust so much on him and having him help her watch Ichigo and Kira while they were in this state was just another thing to toss on the pile. It wasn't easy watching them like this. It wasn't easy keeping it a secret either.

This whole mess was her fault and she made Hitsugaya share in the stress and drama. Doing the paperwork as she should have been doing in the first place was the least she could do.

She put the final folder on top of the pile and looked at her desk. She was done. She actually finished her work. She felt pretty proud of herself. This called for a celebration. She could go to her favorite place, open a fresh bottle of sake…

Then again, that could wait.

It had to. She still couldn't leave the office.

She looked at Kira who stared back. When she smiled at him, he lifted his head.

"Wanna play?" she whispered.

Kira got off the couch.

Rangiku began quietly playing with Kira on the floor. She held the stress ball over her head and watched him reach for it on his knees. He snapped at it with his teeth and fell back down on his hands. She lowered her arm and he lunged for it. He put both hands on her shoulders, nearly knocking her over as he reached for it again.

She giggled, enjoying this as much as he was.

Kira had really come out of his shell when compared to how he was before. He was so timid and easily spooked. He would play, but not as roughly as Ichigo. Ichigo was clearly the more dominate of the two. Even as dogs, they had the same personalities. Ichigo was more likely to be the muscle and Kira would flinch if something spooked him. He was shy and Ichigo was comparably louder.

Kira hadn't really changed, even in this moment. He still liked to play, just not as roughly as the one dozing on the couch. It seemed that he was more comfortable around Rangiku now. At least, that's how it seemed to her.

Rangiku tossed the ball for Kira to catch. He opened his mouth, but the ball bounced off his nose. On the second try, it bounced off his chin.

Rather than get discouraged, Kira waited anxiously for her to throw it again. This time, he caught it. He bit down at just the right moment so it wouldn't fall out of his mouth. She saw him grinning behind the ball in his teeth and couldn't help feeling happy for him. Rangiku gave her hands a silent clap, only allowing her fingertips to come together so Hitsugaya wouldn't be woken.

"Good boy, good boy," she whispered.

She tossed it to him several more times. He caught most of them. He only missed twice. He was getting better at this.

Rangiku held up the ball playfully. "You ready?" she asked, waving it back and forth.

"Bark!" Kira barked once in a playful manor.

It was enough to wake Hitsugaya.

His head shot off the desk and his body came to an up-right position in an instant. "Files coded M-23 through 68 go to the directory, SJ-41 goes to the department of…" Hitsugaya looked around. "Dammit, I'm seeing them in my sleep. Those files I already delivered are going to haunt me."

"That's why I hide them behind the plant in the corner. All those numbers are a nightmare."

Hitsugaya looked at her. He sighed heavily. "I dozed off, didn't I? I didn't mean to do that. I didn't even notice I was sleeping. I was doing work even in my dream."

Rangiku smiled. "I think you pushed yourself a bit hard today, Captain. Taking a break is a good idea."

Hitsugaya shook his head. "There's still more work to do. You're over there playing with Kira so that leaves me to…"

Rangiku was very proud to declare that he was mistaken. "While you napped, I took care of it. I finished all the work on my desk."

He looked skeptical. "You did?"

"Yup!"

He looked at her desk. He saw the completed files neatly stacked in a pile. "You did?!"

"Uh-huh!"

He walked over to the desk and took a folder off the pile and read it. "You did." He looked amazed.

"Consider it a gift for helping me out today, Captain."

"Though, technically, this is the work you should have been doing the past couple of days rather than hiding it behind a plant."

Rangiku pouted. "If you didn't let facts get in the way, this would have been a very nice gesture on my part."

Hitsugaya closed the folder and put it on top of the pile. "Thanks."

He rarely thanked her, but, then again, there rarely was anything to thank her for.

"What time is it?" he asked.

"It's around dinnertime, Captain."

"Akon."

"Hm?"

Hitsugaya turned around. "We're supposed to meet Akon tonight for the cure."

Rangiku jumped up. "I'll go."

"No, I'll go."

She put her hands on her hips. "Still don't trust me?"

Hitsugaya made his way to the door. "It's not about trust. I'll get there fast."

Rangiku noticed that Hitsugaya still wasn't in top form. Though he rested a little, his body was still sore. Not to mention he had just woken up. She caught his legs shaking as he bolted for the door.

After he had already left, Rangiku took it upon herself to beat him there. She would get there faster and get the cure first. By the time he got there, she would have already gotten the cure and fixed them. He would be so pleased.

Naturally, she hadn't taken into account the fact that he would have made a wasted trip, which meant he wasted time he could have spent resting and had used up unnecessary energy. Only one of them needed to go but now they both were.

Rangiku made sure Ichigo and Kira were occupied before locking the door and heading out.

They each went different ways but ended up at the same location at the same time.

"Akon!" they both shouted at once. Then they became aware of each other. "What are you doing here?"

Meanwhile, Akon gave a sigh and turned around. "Welcome back, you two."

"I thought I told you to stay there, Rangiku."

"You never said that."

"It was implied."

"I'm supposed to read your mind now?"

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"Fetching the cure so you won't have to."

"I'm already here! I might as well pick it up, otherwise, why the hell would I walk all this way?"

"… Oh."

He slapped himself in the forehead. "If you went in my place, then tell me before I leave and not after. Please tell me you didn't leave those two alone."

"Whether I did or didn't, you would be mad at me because if I did, you'd be mad and if I didn't, that would mean I told someone about them and you'd be mad."

Akon raised his brow. "That is the first clever thing she'd said all week."

She did have a point.

"Never mind!" Hitsugaya faced Akon. "Do you have a cure ready for us to pick up?"

Akon paused. "Uh…"

"You have it or not?"

Akon looked hesitant. "No sense dragging this out any longer than it has to…" He took in a deep breath. "Rip off the bandage. There is no cure."

Hitsugaya didn't even wait for it to sink in. "What? I thought you were going to make more pills."

"Yeah," said Rangiku. "You made them before. You can just do it again."

"I told you, the ingredients are extremely rare. My Captain won't let me have his reserves, which could very well be the only ones left. I certainly don't have any. Besides, I don't have any of the other things I need to finish it off. Bottom line: I can't make more pills."

"But you did before," Rangiku reminded him. "You can do it again."

"Weren't you listening? I said I can't do that. I don't have the things I need to make it. Even if I did, the best we could hope for is one pill; you take your pick on who gets it."

Even if Akon did have another pill, it would only be that singular pill. Only one of them could be cured. Who were they to decide who gets it? Besides, there was an equal chance of them screwing it up again and ruining that person's life further. An additional pill didn't mean much either way. It could be a great opportunity for one or it could be disastrous for that same person. It was all in the phrasing and how it was interpreted.

Either way, they couldn't forsake their friend. Either of them. They had to cure them both.

"Forget the pills," said Hitsugaya. "What about a cure? Weren't you also working on that?"

It was clear that Akon had very little bedside manor because he didn't even attempt to sugarcoat the answer. If he did, neither of them noticed.

"There is no cure."

"What?!" they said in unison.

"I've already attempted to create one but nothing doing." Akon shook his head. "Based on what the pills were composed of, there's very little that would reverse the effects. I narrowed it down to a couple of possibilities on account of certain components, but… It yielded no cure."

"So… there's nothing?"

"What I came up with would either do nothing or make it worse. I'm sorry, but… But I'm afraid Ichigo and Kira are stuck like this."

Rangiku's jaw dropped. "Stuck..? But… For how long?"

"Indefinitely."

Rangiku gave a shallow gasp. Her knees felt weak.

What had she done? This was all her fault and now Ichigo and Kira were stuck like this forever. This was horrible.

"I'm sorry," Akon said gently, seeing how upset she was.

"There has to be something you can do," she pleaded. "They can't be stuck like this."

"I'm sorry, but…"

"Try!" Rangiku shouted at him. "Try harder! Do something!"

"I already have, Lieutenant Matsumoto. I can't do anything more."

"But they can't be stuck like this forever! I didn't mean for this to happen." Rangiku buried her face in her hands. "I never meant to ruin Kira's life! And Ichigo was just an accident. I never meant for any of this. It's all my fault and I can't do anything about this. I can't help them. This is awful!"

Hitsugaya saw Rangiku shaking and tried to comfort her by placing a hand on her elbow. It pained him to see her like this.

He no longer wanted to point out that this was all her fault. He no longer wished to blame her for any of it. He knew how sorry she was. Rubbing it in wouldn't make either of them feel better. Only worse.

If he could, he would take the responsibility from her and carry it all on his shoulders. They shared this secret together, but it seemed this was something she would feel on her own. She was the one who asked for the pills. She was the one who made sure Kira would eat them. It was her fault.

It was hard enough knowing there wasn't a cure for them. It was even harder for Hitsugaya to accept that there was nothing he could do to make her feel better.

He refused to accept this. There had to be something.

He asked and pleaded with Akon as well but he never changed his answer. Hitsugaya didn't give up. He couldn't let Rangiku suffer like this, knowing she was responsible. Hitsugaya wanted them to be cured for her sake and well as theirs. He thought it was too much of a burden for her to bear.

"I can't take this caterwauling anymore," came Mayuri's voice. He stormed into the room. "What the hell's going on here?"

They quickly explained what happened.

"And now there's no cure and Ichigo and Kira are stuck like this and it's all my fault and I feel terrible." Rangiku sniffled.

"I'm sorry," Akon repeated. "There's nothing I can do. There is no cure for those two pills."

"Yes, there is."

They all looked at Mayuri. "Huh?"

He nodded his head. "Yup. Well, actually, no, there isn't."

"Which is it?" Hitsugaya asked through his teeth. "I've been through enough the past two days. Jerk us around and I will bite off your ear."

"Now, now, easy, little guy."

Hitsugaya's eye twitched.

"There isn't a cure, but one isn't needed," Mayuri explained. "Those pills will wear off in time. Can't tell you how long, but they will."

Akon looked stunned. "Captain, how did you know..?"

"That you gave those two pills to Rangiku behind my back or that I knew they would wear off?" Mayuri smirked. "Not a damn thing goes on in my lab I know nothing about."

Rangiku's eyes lit up once she realized what Mayuri said. "It'll wear off? Really?"

"Yes. The primary ingredient in those pills also happens to be the primary ingredient in certain brain inhibiting drugs that exist in the world. Makes people highly suggestible, lack of good judgment, hallucinations… People take them looking to either get high or use them to overpower people they wish to prey on, knowing that the person taking them won't recall a thing while they were under the influence. But like all drugs, eventually, they will wear off. Time may vary, but they will wear off. Why do you think pharmaceutical companies make so many? The drugs wear off and the person needs more of them. So I'm basing my theory off that. I am positive those pills will wear off sooner or later."

"And you waited until now to tell us this because..?" Hitsugaya asked, annoyed that Mayuri knew all along what was going on and kept his mouth shut.

"To teach you a lesson." Mayuri pointed to each one of them. "You for going behind my back and thinking I won't notice you handing drugs out like candy because a Lieutenant from another Squad asked you to. You for taking the easy way out and thinking we'll just hand stuff out to you for free. And you for not keeping a better eye on your Lieutenant."

Rangiku was too happy to be annoyed or angry. Ichigo and Kira were going to be ok.

"Whew! That was such a scare!"

"You're lecturing me?" Hitsugaya snarled at Mayuri. "What about you? And am I really supposed to watch my Lieutenant all day like she's some child?"

"How is she not? Physical appearance aside, can you answer me how she isn't?"

Before Hitsugaya could answer, Rangiku grabbed him in a tight hug, overjoyed at the news.

"Did you hear that, Captain? They're going to be ok!"

He pushed against her, fighting for air. Her breasts were smothering him.

Mayuri ignored them to look at Akon who bowed his head.

"Sorry, Captain. I shouldn't have fulfilled her request without speaking to you first."

"Eh." Mayuri shrugged. "I knew it wasn't dangerous… But they didn't. I know you tend to come to me for things that are important. You know how many requests we get around here. If I have to oversee everything, I'll never have time to do my own thing."

Akon was confused. "So… Um, what was the lesson here? You want me to contact you or not? You knew those pills weren't dangerous but you wanted to mess with us to teach us a lesson? Sorry, but you just scolded me for going behind your back for something and then you just said that I don't have to come to you for everything."

Mayuri grinned. "The lesson I was trying to teach you was not to take on every single request people give us. Only the interesting ones or the ones that mean something. The point I'm trying to make is…" He pointed at Rangiku. "Don't give her something just because she asked. Rule of thumb I have with her is never listen to her."

"Oh."

Mayuri started to walk away. "She never has anything good to say anyway. Not a single good idea in her head."

Hitsugaya overheard that remark and pushed Rangiku's arms away from his neck so he could yell after Mayuri. "What was that?! You don't insult a member of my Squad like that."

Mayuri paused. "It wasn't an insult. She has plenty of ideas for making life easier, but they're not interesting. That's all I meant. Good ideas are interesting ones."

Which just happened to be Mayuri's opinion. He deemed something a good idea only if he found it interesting. Anything less simply wasn't worth his time. He gave it effort, mostly for integrity, but he had his Squad members do most of the work while he did something else.

Though Akon respected Mayuri greatly, he also feared him. Mostly on account of what Mayuri deemed interesting, which usually involved something grotesque, painful or immoral. Or all of the above. The last time he found something interesting, the Squad members had to hold him back because the actions he would take would put not only themselves but other Soul Reapers at risk of being maimed or killed.

Though Squad 12 always delivered, perhaps Rangiku should look elsewhere when she needed something.

* * *

Hitsugaya and Rangiku returned to the office to check on how Ichigo and Kira were doing. Rangiku insisted they would just be sleeping since there was nothing to hold their interest, but when they opened the office door, they found Rangiku's finished pile of paperwork on the floor and Ichigo chewing on the empty folder.

Hitsugaya cleaned up the mess while Rangiku played with them. Once they were tired out, they crawled back onto the couch for a nap. To relieve Hitsugaya of another burden, Rangiku said she would take care of the finished paperwork. She left the office for a minute, handed off the stack to a Squad member and came right back.

Now Hitsugaya and Rangiku were sitting on the floor watching Ichigo and Kira sleep, wondering how much longer they would be this way.

"How long do you think before they return to normal?" Rangiku asked softly.

"Not sure. It could be days."

"They've already been like this for two. You mean we have to wait even longer?"

He shrugged. "Mayuri said it was a drug and every drug wears off. It's just a matter of time."

Rangiku faced the duo again, silent.

Now was as good a time as any.

"Rangiku… I'm sorry."

She looked up. "Huh?"

Hitsugaya sighed. "I'm sorry."

"For what? I'm the one who messed up."

"Perhaps, but I messed up, too. Not with this. This was all you." He gestured to Ichigo and Kira. "Let's just say filling in for you was an eye-opener."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I didn't realize how much work you did outside the office. Even the Women's Association meeting I didn't take too seriously. Those activities were fun but they wore me out. I was surprised. And all those papers. It's been so long since I've had to run around like that. I believe I could have done it without getting winded but after all those meetings, I was in no shape to run around carrying a heavy stack like that. One or the other, not both. That's what wore me down."

She smiled. "That's why I use shortcuts, so I don't have to run around as much. Or I just hand them off to someone else. More people means less work, right?"

"I suppose." Hitsugaya continued, knowing he had to tell her everything. "It wasn't just the meetings. You were better at taking care of these two. I wasn't. And I'm sorry about your scarf. There was an accident with the tea and Ichigo. Long story. I shouldn't have yelled at you before when you knocked my cup over. It was an accident."

"That's ok, Captain. And I'm sorry, too." Rangiku sighed dramatically. "Paperwork is hard! I hate doing it. It goes on forever and it's so boring. But since I was stuck in here all day and had to do it, I realize that I probably shouldn't leave you to do it alone all the time. Paperwork is boring on its own, but doing it alone is even worse. I'm sorry I leave you alone all the time."

"It's alright. Thanks for the apology." He raised his brow. "Does this mean you're going to help me complete it more often?"

She nodded. "Yup! I'll make sure you have help. I hated doing it alone. I bet you do, too. That's why you're so grouchy all the time."

Hitsugaya's eyebrows lowered in annoyance.

"This was hard, but I know it's easier if you have someone there to help you. Thanks for having my back, Captain."

Hitsugaya's expression softened. "You're welcome. Oh, and by the way, I took care of that new guy from Squad 11 who's been bugging you and everyone else."

"You did? Thank you. But, wait, you're not his Captain. Can you really do that?"

"You mean can I yell at him for picking on members of my Squad and creating a disruption in the Division? Sure, I can. A Captain is a Captain. We have authority. Even if he's not a member of my Squad, I can still order him around. Especially if it involves my Squad members. So, yeah, I can tell him off. And I did."

Rangiku smiled. "Thank you, Captain. You're so sweet."

He moved aside, expecting her to try to pat him on the head or pinch his cheek, even knowing he hated that. She didn't, but he still expected it at a moment's notice.

Kira began to stir. He opened his eyes and looked directly at Rangiku.

"Hey, there, Kira," she cooed.

He blinked at her tone of voice. "Yeah, what?"

Rangiku gasped. Kira spoke his first words in two days. "Kira, you're ok!" She threw her arms around him, dragging him off the couch and onto the floor.

"Ow! Rangiku! Stop it! That hurts!"

"I'm so, so sorry for what I did, Kira! I didn't mean to do that to you! I'm so sorry! I hope you can forgive me! I'm just so happy you're alright! If you had stayed like that forever, I don't know what I'd do!"

"Stayed like that?" Kira pushed against her arms so he could get some air. "I wouldn't have stayed like that forever. I would have gotten over it eventually."

"Yeah, but we didn't know that," she told him.

"What? You thought I'd be a sad sack forever? It's not the first time someone's said that stuff to me."

"No, not that. I meant-"

Hitsugaya threw his hand over Rangiku's mouth. "Just so we're clear," he said to Kira, "what are you talking about?"

Kira looked at him. "The things Rangiku said before. I mean, sure, I was upset, but I got over it. Why? What did you think I meant?"

Hitsugaya concluded that based on what Kira was saying, he didn't remember being a dog for the past two days. There was no point in bringing it up. Calling attention to it would humiliate Kira which was something they had been trying to avoid all this time.

Kira looked behind him and saw Ichigo sleeping on the couch behind him. He remembered Ichigo was still hiding from Rukia. He must have dozed off on the couch.

Come to think of it, wasn't he also sleeping a moment ago? Hitsugaya wasn't in the room before. Rangiku was here, but when did he show up? Something was off.

"Did you put something in that pork bun?" he asked Rangiku.

"Why?"

"Because I was standing over there a moment ago and now I'm over here and Captain Hitsugaya's in the room. What happened?"

"Well…" She glanced over at Hitsugaya who shook his head from side to side. She couldn't tell Kira what really happened.

"Wait, that guy," Kira said abruptly. "The one who came in and grabbed you. He ran off, didn't he?"

"Y-yes!" Rangiku nodded up and down. "Yes, he did. I was going to chase him down. I got to the door and when I looked back, you were on the ground."

"I was?"

Hitsugaya took over from there. "I get it. She must have hit you when she spun around to chase after him. Bet she clocked you in the head and knocked you out."

"Oh." Kira rubbed his head, feeling for a bump that wasn't there. "I guess that makes sense…"

Before he could piece things together, Rangiku went back to apologizing. "I'm sorry about that. I didn't realize what I had done before it was too late. I'm sorry about that."

"That's ok. It was an accident. I don't blame you, after what that guy did. I'd be in a blind fury as well."

"And I'm sorry for saying all those mean things to you before, too. I didn't mean for it to come out that way. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I didn't mean to screw up so bad. I feel terrible about it."

"Th- that's ok." Kira said, waving his hands. "It's fine. Like I said, I'm over it. I guess getting knocked in the head gives you some time to think and get over things faster. Heh heh. But it's fine. Don't worry. I'm ok."

Rangiku smiled. "I know you are. I should have seen it sooner."

Kira looked out the window. "Sunset? It's that late already? Man, how long was I out?" Kira stood up. "I better get going. I still have some stuff to do. See you guys later."

Rangiku and Hitsugaya watched Kira leave then looked at each other.

"He really doesn't remember?" Rangiku mumbled.

"Well," said Hitsugaya, "Mayuri did say it was like a drug. The primary ingredient happens to also be in several drugs that causes lapses in memory and hallucinations. I guess it would stand to reason that they wouldn't remember acting that way because of that. After all, people who take those kinds of drugs tend to forget the experience. Like Mayuri said."

"So they won't remember anything from the time they were dogs?" she asked. "That whole section will be gone? Like it never happened?"

"If Kira's any indication…"

Ichigo threw his arms over his head. "Stop all that racket. I'm trying to sleep."

"And guess who's back."

"I guess since they took it around the same time…"

Ichigo opened his eyes. "Why are you staring at me?"

"Because you're sleeping in my office," said Hitsugaya, pretending nothing had happened.

Under the impression Hitsugaya had just walked in and discovered him like this, Ichigo sat up. "Oh, sorry. I didn't realize I had nodded off." He looked out the window. "I slept all day?!"

"I guess you were tired."

"Ah, crap. Rukia's going to have a fit when she finds me. I can hear it now." He got off the couch. "I better go find her and get it over with."

"Glad you're ok, Ichigo!" Rangiku called after him.

"Yeah, yeah."

Rangiku leaned over to Hitsugaya. "It's ok we didn't tell them, right?"

"They don't remember and we kept it a secret. If I were in their shoes, I wouldn't want to know. I'd be too embarrassed."

"I guess you're right. If you don't remember something embarrassing, what's the point in having it brought up? Best to keep it quiet."

* * *

"Where the hell were you?!" Rukia shouted at ichigo and kicked him.

"Ow! Sorry, I fell asleep."

"A likely excuse. For this long?"

"I was tired, I guess."

To Ichigo, he had only been asleep for a few hours. For Rukia, he had been asleep for two days. They never compared timelines, so each thought the other was being ridiculous.

"Come on," she told him. "Captain Ukitake's feeling better. Let's go meet with him then I'll bring you back."

"Fine."

As Ichigo walked, he started to daydream. Rukia caught him with a distant look on his face and asked if he was really alright, now growing concerned. If he had been asleep for two days, maybe something was wrong.

Ichigo shook his head. "No. I was just thinking about a weird dream I had. It was a good one, but it was weird."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I dreamed I was a dog. What's weirder is that I was in Toshiro's office and was playing fetch with Rangiku."

Rukia giggled. "Sounds cute."

"Cute?" He frowned. "It was weird. I don't know why I would dream that."

Then again, if he was in their office, he could have been picking up their voices which then influenced his dreams. Perhaps that was why he had such a dream.

* * *

Akon glanced over at Mayuri. "Do you think Kira and Ichigo will recall what happened?" he asked.

"Who knows? Some people don't remember anything after taking such drugs. It's rare for them to actually recall fragments since such drugs are supposed to prevent that. I doubt they'll remember anything."

Mayuri paused.

"Although, Ichigo was in his human form when he took the pill unknowingly. I wonder if that could be a factor." He shrugged. "Eh. Who knows?"

He honestly didn't find it that interesting.

* * *

Please review!


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12:**

The day of the Lieutenants' games arrived and everyone, even those not taking part were excited. Unohana set out snacks on a table for everyone and the competitors stood around chatting or trash-talking the other team. Renji kept telling Hisagi that his team was going down, but Hisagi smugly shook his head and told Renji that he was the one going down.

When Kira showed up, Renji flinched looking worried.

"Hey, Kira!" Hisagi waved. "Haven't seen you in a while. You ready to play?"

"Yup," he said with a nod. "I'm ready. Are you?"

"I'm ready to win."

Renji shot Rangiku a worried look. He pointed at Kira while his back was turned, shaking his head from side to side and started waving his arms, indicating his unwillingness to have Kira present for these games. Rangiku kicked him in response.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"Don't go making him nervous now. Let him do his thing."

"Are you kidding? You were the one who thought for sure he'd lose this for us. The guy's been missing for two days. Something tells me he wasn't training during that time. He must have been curled up in a fetal position having a panic attack. There's no way we're going to win with him on our team."

"You don't know that," said Rangiku. "He might surprise you."

The first round was an obstacle course Ikkaku and several other people pieced together the past couple of days. Everyone had to run through it, but in sets. Five sets, one member from each team. Renji and Nanao were up first. Renji gave it his all and made it to the finish line first. The team with the most winners would take the point.

Kira and Hisagi were up last. Renji stood beside Rangiku, crossing his fingers and keeping his eyes shut. Before the game officially began, he had upped his bid, thinking Kira wouldn't show up. If they lost this, he was going to be out a lot of money.

The race began and Kira and Hisagi rushed through the course. The rope swing was the second-to-last obstacle and Kira got more distance from it than Hisagi. He landed in front of Hisagi and ran as fast as he could. They jumped over the last obstacle, the mud pit, and rushed to the finish line neck-and-neck.

A desire to show off rather than a feeling of worry overtook Kira and carried him over the finish line. He managed to pick up just enough speed to cross first.

"He did it?" Renji said in shock. "He actually crossed first?"

Rangiku cheered for her friend. "Whoo-hoo! Go, Kira!"

Hisagi looked at Kira and smiled. "Since when are you faster than me?"

Kira shrugged, panting. "Dunno. But that was fun, right?"

"Yeah, it was." Hisagi bumped knuckles with his friend. "I better step up my game if I want to beat you."

"Don't go easy on me just because we're friends."

"I'm not." Hisagi glanced to the side. "Rangiku's watching. I'm giving it my all. Hey, clearly, you're not holding back either."

Kira felt even more accomplished now. He had beaten Hisagi while he was going all-out. No one was taking pity on him when he won the race. He actually won and no one let him win. What a great feeling. It was even better knowing that Hisagi wasn't going to hand over victory that easily. It wouldn't be any fun if people let him win.

This was fun.

The next game went well, too. It was a search and find game where they had to match cards with corresponding ones scattered across the ground. Kira didn't lead them to victory, but he had fun playing the game. Rangiku was the one who won this time. Mostly because Hisagi was frozen in place when he caught sight of her chest as she leaned over the cards. Unable to move, he couldn't search for any cards and that cost them the game.

The next round brought Hisagi's team a victory, but Kira didn't mind. This was pretty fun.

For most of the game, he was only dimly aware that he was playing to win. He just wanted to play and have fun, not necessarily win.

Renji and Rangiku were worried that losing one of the games would discourage Kira but it didn't. He had a good attitude about it. Renji wondered what had gotten into him.

Perhaps playing games as a dog was therapeutic for Kira. Dogs didn't care about winning when they played. They just wanted to have fun. That was the point of their games. No winners, just fun.

It was also excellent training, too. That probably was what helped Kira cross the finish line first in his race against Hisagi. Crawling around for two days had strengthened muscles Kira rarely used. He had to get faster crawling on four legs if he wanted to keep up with Ichigo and chase after a ball. Now in an upright position, he could run more easily, but his time on all fours had given his muscles a boost. Now he was slightly faster than Hisagi.

Playing as a dog helped him get rid of his stress. Not to mention all those naps had him well rested.

He wasn't worried about winning. He wasn't worried about letting his team down. He just wanted to play the game and have a good time. The physical and mental training combined helped him cross the finish line first.

Renji tallied up the score and realized that their team was in the lead by one point.

"We're actually beating Hisagi's team. Nobody blow this!"

Rangiku put her hands on her hips. "Jeez, lighten up, would you? It's just a game."

"I've got a lot of money riding on this."

"Money? You placed bets on this?"

Renji bit his lip. "Um… So did Hisagi!"

"How typical. Throw the blame on someone else."

"Really? That coming from you?"

Ikkaku leaned over to Yumichika. "You think they know that the next game's about to start?"

"Think we should tell them?"

"Nah."

"You know what I heard, Ikkaku? I heard that Captain Hitsugaya came over to yell at the new guy in our Squad after he grabbed Rangiku."

"Oh?"

"Can he do that? He's not our Captain."

"He grabbed someone from Hitsugaya's Squad. Of course, he can yell at him."

"True. Plus, it was probably a blessing. If he informed the Captain about it, what do you suppose he would do?"

Ikkaku shrugged. "Don't know. But the guy is lucky he got told off by someone else. If he plans on disobeying Hitsugaya's orders, tell him that. I bet he fears Kenpachi more than Hitsugaya."

"I informed him that even though our Squads are so close together, we need him here and has no business going over there. I'll admit there aren't many women, if any, in our Squad, but what he did was vulgar, I have to say."

"Yachiru's the only girl in our Squad."

"Would you count her as a woman?"

"Hell, no. I don't know what I'd call her other than a child."

Yumichika saw Rangiku yanking Renji around by the ear and decided it was time to get their attention. "Guys! The next game's about to begin!"

"On it!"

"Ow!"

* * *

Hitsugaya looked up as a Squad member entered his office.

"Lieutenant Matsumoto at the games?"

"I let her attend. She did a good job yesterday, so I thought it was only fair."

"Speaking of which…" The Squad member set a stack of papers on Hitsugaya's desk. "She filled these out yesterday."

"Why are they here?"

"Not all of them were filled out correctly. Two of these have nonsense written in certain areas, and these ones are illegible. Looks like she scribbled down anything quickly just to get it done."

Hitsugaya sighed, scowl back on his face. If the paperwork wasn't legible, it had to be done over again. She tried to help him out, but she just ended up delaying the issue. This was why he wanted to get it done right the first time. Her method would get it done faster, but it would end up increasing their workload in the long run. It was just easier if he did it himself.

"Sorry, Captain." The Squad member could see his annoyance and felt bad for delivering more work for him to do.

"It's not your fault." Hitsugaya took the papers and started to read over them. "Rangiku's promised me that she would be helping me more often. Of course, if this is what her help looks like, I might as well do it all myself."

"I'm sure she'll put forth an effort, Captain."

Rangiku knew how to do paperwork. She has in the past, long before he was made Captain. Apparently, now that she had a diligent Captain, she saw fit to be lazy because only one person was needed to get it done. If they were both lazy, nothing would get done. Too bad she didn't see the point in having two hardworking people in the office.

* * *

The following day, Hitsugaya was looking forward to having Rangiku's help, as she promised. He had already started, thinking she would show up soon, but she didn't.

Half an hour later, the door opened and a Squad member entered, knocking against the side of the open door. "Lieutenant Matsumoto sent me here to help you complete the paperwork so you won't be stuck doing it alone, she says."

Hitsugaya's eye twitched.

This was her method of helping him? Sending someone else to do it for her?

Considering how he didn't want to be the only one working and how she filed the paperwork before, perhaps this was her best effort of handling the situation. However, this paperwork wasn't fit for Squad members. It was too advanced and they wouldn't know certain things.

"Never mind," he told them. "I'll do it myself."

They tried again the following day. Hitsugaya made Rangiku stay to do the paperwork with him and do it right. Her constant humming was too much of a distraction, so he finally kicked her out and said that he would do it himself, alone in the quiet.

Rangiku went off to do her own thing and Hitsugaya completed the paperwork correctly and in a timely fashion.

It was probably better this way.

* * *

Well, they do compliment each other, don't they?

The end!

Hope you liked this requested fanfiction.

Thanks for reading and please review! ^-^


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